Dragon Warriors: Brass :Book 2:
by Kouzai
Summary: After fighting off the King's army at Xiar and then finding Yu and Zu.  Kanaahn and the others have begun their travel towards the city of Ethon in the county of Estion.  Little do they are about to run into obstacles beyond their imagination.
1. Table of Contents

Dragon Warriors

Book Two

Brass

Prologue: A New Legend

Chapter 1: Crossing the Border

Chapter 2: The Forests of Estion

Chapter 3: The Green Dragon Clan

Chapter 4: Tradition

Chapter 5: Romontya

Chapter 6: A Tail in the Shadows

Chapter 7: Kanaahn's Dilemma

Chapter 8: Shooter's Story

Chapter 9: Going for a Swim

Chapter 10: Ethon, A Night at the Gates

Chapter 11: The Inner City

Chapter 12: King Leon Austrica

Chapter 13: Orichalum of Brass

Chapter 14: Training, The First Step

Chapter 15: The Legend and Truth of the Tsuru Family

Chapter 16: Leon's Past, Arial's New Friend

Chapter 17: Attack on Ethon, A Taste of True Evil

Chapter 18: A City Lost, A New Road Gained

Epilogue: Separate Ways


	2. Prologue: A New Legend

Prologue: A New Legend

Long ago, before man first crawled from the primordial ooze, dragons ruled the Earth. They were the conquerors. They were the destroyers, and the creators. Warring amongst only themselves, and even then they fought rarely. It was a time of peace; the odd struggle between Dragons would push up mountains or create craters that would soon fill up with rainwater. In the hundreds of millennia that the Dragons were in control, they shaped the Earth into what it was. They performed miracles beyond that of any imagination, and even when the first man encountered them for the first time, they were so great that humans revered them as gods. Architecture, structures, statues and even religions were built around the Dragons and their benevolence. Parties were thrown and held in their honors; people gave offerings, begging Dragons for their blessings and protection. However, there were five Dragons who were revered above the rest. They were the creators of the creators, the gods above the gods, the metallic Dragons. Orichalum of Brass, Aes of Copper, Aeramen of Bronze, Argentum of Silver, and their leader, Aurum of Gold, these dragons each ruled from the five "holy places". One located in each country on The Continent. These dragons were looked too when heroes needed to be trained and when divine intervention was needed. Benevolent as they were, the Dragons agreed without thought of gain or power.

The humans and Dragons bonded over the centuries, growing closer with each other. Eventually, King Aurum had a dream, in which he foresaw the future. The dream told him of a day when the Dragons and humans would need to unite together to fight a monstrous enemy. Fearing for the worst, Aurum prepared for the worst. He told the other Metallic Dragons of his dream, they too agreed that they would need to prepare for this danger were it to come soon; all of them agreeing that they could trust the humans with their deepest, darkest secrets. So the Dragons decided to choose five humans who would be the protectors of both humans and Dragons. These five humans became the first five Dragon Warriors. A group of five humans-who are replaced every fifty years-chosen from a handful of candidates-all whom are picked specially and tested repeatedly by the Metallic Dragons-became known as heroes throughout The Continent, they were hired by kings, lords, nobles and Generals everywhere to help resolve conflicts and disputes. Even the Dragons called on them for help. What made them special above all other warriors and soldiers was that they were each given a Dragon of their own. Not as pets. But as companions, friends, and even at sometimes confidants. The fact that Dragons and humans could fight together, and trust their lives with each other was-as the human and Dragon elders believed-a show to the great testament of the bonds shared by humans and Dragons for years. They believed this show would deepen the bond further. And for a long time, they were right.

This cycle of helping each other continued for years. The Dragons helped the humans with their troubles, and the humans would help the Dragons by protecting them from Evil and feeding them offerings of livestock. However, the balance was soon disrupted, when a young Dragon named Tenebrae felt that the Dragons were being abused and used by humans. He saw the humans as overlords and enslavers, who used the Dragons for their mysteries and powers, and expected that only a few cattle would repay the debt. Enraged, Tenebrae began to charge human sacrifices for his help. When the people soon agreed-too desperate for help to see the wrong in their actions-Tenebrae knew he could go further. And began demanding gold as well as human sacrifices, which he would devour in front of the people. Tenebrae even began demanding royalty to hand over their Kingdoms and their Crowns. When the Dragons and the Warriors heard about this injustice, they knew it was time for an intervention. They entered Tenebrae's domain in the Swamps of Aldamora, and confronted him. Warning him to stop his vile actions or they would have to take protective measures and kill Tenebrae. Tenebrae laughed in their faces, but agreed to stop. The Warriors and Metallic Dragons took his word and left without a second thought. They soon learned that was a mistake, when many years later, Tenebrae had attacked Aldamora, as well as the surrounding countries. He led an army of Black Dragons, similar to himself, all of them just as demonic and twisted in their goals and ambitions as their leader. The Warriors and the Dragons knew their refusal to kill a brethren and let him off with a warning instead was a mistake which they had come to solely regret as the realized the consequences. However, Aurum reassured them, telling them it was not the time to dwell on the past, but to look to the present and prepare for the future. He reminded the Warriors and his brethren that this was the reason the Warriors were founded in the first place, and that he, as well as the Warriors, would and must do everything they could to protect the world from Tenebrae's evil designs.

Relieved and in agreement, the Warriors rallied the people and the Dragons to battle. Relaying Aurum's inspiring words to both sides. As the combined forces headed into the battlefield, ready to take on Tenebrae's army. The two armies clashed in many battles. For a long time it seemed the outcome would be matched, until Tenebrae's army suddenly seemed to grow in size and strength. Besting all the humans and Dragons. Many lives were being lost as the battles dragged on, and the morale of the soldiers seemed to lower as the body count rose. Tenebrae took the time between battles to continue to provide more miracles, for greater and more inhumane costs each time. Aurum knew that both Dragons and humans could loose no more. The war had to end. Aurum decided to confront Tenebrae himself, asking for the other Metallic Dragons to step down. However, the Warriors refused to stand aside, and therefore asked to fight beside Aurum. Aurum, though reluctant, agreed to their request. He believed they had the power to fight against the oppressive Tenebrae and his twisted army and win. As Aurum and the Warriors reached Tenebrae, he laughed. Calling their cause futile and pathetic. The Warriors became enraged by the insults, but were stopped from attacking Tenebrae by Aurum. The ground shook violently as the two side fought to the death, and in the end, both sides lost. Though Tenebrae was killed and defeated, the Warriors also lay dead in the carnage. Aurum was the only one who walked away from the fight.

After the battle was over, and Tenebrae's army conceited their defeat and begged for Aurum's mercy-which they never got and instead were imprisoned inside of the Black Spire Mountains for eternity-Aurum spoke to both humans and Dragons, hoping to give their hope back. Telling him he would choose new Warriors, just like they had for the many millennia that preceded this one. However, these plans were put to a halt, when the King of Aldamora, King Rego started hunting Dragons, and encouraged his court to do the same. Aurum, confronted to King to find out why he was doing this. This was when Aurum learned Tenebrae's darkest secret, one he took to the grave. Before death, Tenebrae performed a miracle for the King, giving him the son he always wanted. But in return Tenebrae asked for the queen's body as a human sacrifice once the child was born. The King refused the offer, but the queen, Queen Lijad, saw benevolence in the Dragon's intentions and believed that he asked for the Queens life in return for another life.

The Queen happily accepted the offer, against the King's wishes. Eventually the Queen was executed as a sacrifice and the King was left alone with his only son. Tenebrae devoured the Queen in front of the King and his court and quickly left the town to continue his war. The King disgusted by Tenebrae's cruelty and depressed at the loss of his wife, vowed revenge on all Dragon's. The King had his infant son killed, because looking at the child reminded him of his lost wife and Tenebrae's wicked grin as he devoured her. Aurum, touched by the King's story offered to help in any way he couldn't, even if it meant giving up his own life to resurrect the Queen and the King's son. Aurum knew it was risky, but it would mean saving his people as well. The King thought short on this offer and rejected, refusing to see the good in Aurum's deal. Aurum was then ordered to leave before he was killed; Aurum did so, telling the King that if he attacked the Dragon's, he would regret it. The King ignored Aurum's words and continued attacking Dragon's. Aurum began to rally the dragons not too long after, but not to attack. He was sending the dragons into hiding. Aurum knew that not all humans were evil, but he knew as Rego extended his rule and spread word of his hardships suffered by Tenebrae across The Continent, things would become increasingly unsafe for the Dragon's. Aurum told the Dragon's to hide-by breed-in designate areas that would suit them, while he and the other Metallic Dragons each went to sleep inside of the five holy places within each country on The Continent. Though not before placing five dragon eggs inside of a Mount Pinnacle. They knew from a vision of Aurum's that the people who found these eggs would become the next Dragon Warriors. They hoped that these new Warriors would bring peace and prosperity between humans and dragons once more.

Many years have passed since the eggs were hidden, and hope had finally reached the world. A group of five children-Kanaahn Saatus, Arial Gainsborough, Shooter Maxim, Arkas Nazzer and Drakhart Ghast-from the small village of Küla discovered the eggs, and shortly after, embarked on a quest to Ottogard, and eventually to the ancient dragon city of Xiar in order to find the location of the five Metallic Dragons and become the next Dragon Warriors. Throughout their travels they faced many hardships, from losing a member of their group, to sickness, but no matter what they persevered. These five children met new friends along their way, and bridged tighter bonds between the existing relationships they had. The group managed to build a reputation for themselves, through fighting off the king's army and defending the Daron owned city of Xiar and winning. Quickly after fighting off the king and his army at Xiar, the new Warriors headed to the southern mountains below the ancient city and found the location of Altimara's Dragon Masters, Yu and Zu, as well as meeting two members of the ancient and legendary Tsuru Clan. Armed with new knowledge of the location of Orichalum-provided by Yu and Zu-the five kids, along with their new friends, two Daron Dragon Masters Kyeit Karaglen and Cecil Wynn, were en-route towards the city of Ethon in the eastern country of Estion. Their hopes high from their previous victories, and from the promise of good times and hope ahead, the kids travel towards the border of the country they once considered to be the only one they would ever see. Ready to complete the next step of their quest to bring balance.


	3. Chapter 1: Crossing the Border

Chapter 1: Crossing the Border

Kanaahn wiped the sweat from his brow as he flicked the wagon reigns. He and the rest of his friends had travelled for two weeks across the barren and open deserts of Southeastern Altimara. He had spent that time in those two weeks thinking about how much his life had changed in a matter of a few months. Thinking about all the change made the reality of things seem surreal for Kanaahn, and put things in perspective. He had left the town that had been his home for years, trained in magic and fighting, become best friends with a dragon, had fallen in love, and fought in his first battle against the king and army that he had always feared, and won. Kanaahn sighed as he scanned the scenery around him, and he noticed there was a distinct change, and had been for the past few days. Flat plains now replaced large dunes of sand and small mounds of sod, as well as patches of tall dry grass replaced the once abundant rock formations. Kanaahn looked back over his shoulder and into the wagon, he could see Kyeit poking her head out of the back, discussing with Djall and Adalinda and the other dragons-who walked behind the wagon-the possible dangers they would face on their journey, and what they would do once they reached Ethon. "Remember," explained Kyeit, "We don't know the true nature or strength of Tenebrae's power, all we know is that he managed to resurrect himself from death after his body was burned and the bones scattered or destroyed and that he also broke the black dragons free of their imprisonment. What else he's capable of we're not sure, but we have to be ready for anything, if he's strong enough to come back from the dead without being noticed, anything is possible for him."

The dragons nodded sagely, understanding what Kyeit was telling them, "I understand." Said Djall, "Is there anything else that we should know to look out for?" Kyeit thought for a second, and Kanaahn took this opportunity to inject a bit of sarcasm into the conversation, "Terrible monsters, the size of mountains that eat even the largest dragons." Said Kanaahn with a sly smile. Kyeit turned to him and rolled her eyes, smiling as well, she turned towards the now panicked dragons in an attempt to reassure them, "Don't listen to him," she said soothingly, "He's a moron." Adalinda gave a small laugh, "But he is your mate as well, is he not?" she said in her soft, smooth-as-silk voice. It was a voice that to emitted an air of grace and majesty, as well as definite undertones of strength, confidence and dignity. Kyeit gave another smile, "Yes, he is," she said, "So I guess I'm dating a moron." Kanaahn gave a look over his shoulder, and shrugged, "Jeez, thanks Kyeit," he said jokingly. Kyeit laughed, as did the dragons, especially Djall who found it amusing that his rider and friend was being verbally attacked by a girl, even if in a joking manner.

Kyeit turned around again and faced the dragons, intent on finishing her instructional warning, "And to answer your question, yes there is." She said to Djall, "Tenebrae, throughout his reign of terror, was known to have drawn many dragons to his cause, many powerful and feared dragons. Dragons such as the Supri Fothisevi, the mighty Jennu Ithael, and even a few of the last remaining brown dragons, it's assumed that if he can bring himself back from the other side, then he can certainly bring others back as well." Kanaahn listened intently, still focusing on the road ahead. He wasn't sure what any of these dragons were, or what the history behind them was, but all that Kanaahn did know was that as each name was mentioned, the dragons would give a shiver of fear, each greater than the last. Something that made Kanaahn uneasy because he rarely saw Djall-or any of the other dragons for that matter-act that afraid of anything before, not even an army of black dragons. Kanaahn looked back nervously and almost regretfully asked, "Um," he started out quietly, "Who are those dragons exactly?" Kyeit looked at Kanaahn as if he had three right arms, but then quickly shook her head as she remembered he knew nothing of dragons or dragons lore, "You are definitely going to need _a lot_ of training of dragon lore, customs, culture, society, history and language." She said sighing at Kanaahn's ignorance, it wasn't his fault of course, but she couldn't let it go on much longer, not if he was going to be a Dragon Warrior and tie himself even closer with the dragons. "Well," she said raising her head a bit and shifting so that she faced Kanaahn, "The Supri Fothisevi is an ancient dragon, born in the old times, he was once a deity of benevolence, though he tended to have his moments of temperament. He lived in the caves where Yu and Zu now reside, and he was famous for being the world's only eight-headed dragon. His name mirrors that feat; it means Eight Heads in the draconic language. It was rumored-though no one knows for sure because no ones actually ever walked away from a fight with him to give us proof-but it was said that each of the eight heads could use a different elemental breath power. He was slain by Orichalum and Aeramen during the war with Tenebrae."

Kanaahn felt something wretch in his gut, he felt genuinely afraid, and he hoped to some higher power, whether it be man or dragon, that he would never have to fight that thing. At least, not until he was fully trained. "And the others?" asked Kanaahn, again regretting this decision, but feeling that he had come too far to stop now. Kyeit thought for a moment, and then looked at Kanaahn and spoke, "Jennu Ithael is a mighty warrior among the dragons, and he has never lost a fight up until the point of his death, and is as powerful as one of the Metallic Dragons. He was a red dragon, but he was much larger than normal. In fact, his size before death dwarfed even Aurum's, who is even larger than a silver dragon as this point in his age." Kanaahn thought of the possibility and tried to compare the sizes in his mind, making his jaw almost hit the ground in amazement and surprise that reaching sizes like that were even possible. "He was a formidable foe," continued Kyeit, "And very hard to take down after he turned. It took Aurum, Argentum and half of the Darastrixi Charir to destroy him. In fact it was said that the red dragon egg that was placed inside of the cave in Mount Pinnacle-the egg that Risasi hatched from-was a descendant of the Jennu Ithael, and I've even heard some rumors that say the egg was laid by Jennu Ithael's mate and was later taken and cared for by Aurum after the two dragons were slain." Everyone looked towards Risasi-who instantly began to stiffen. At that instant, he clenched his powerful jaw tightly as he mulled over what he just heard. Fyete broke the silence with a laugh, "Risasi the son of an evil and violent murder?" he asked rhetorically, "I wouldn't be surprised with the way he fights and speaks. His temper certainly seems to point towards the possibility."

Risasi remained silent, surprising everyone; he didn't even flinch or retaliate to Fyete's comment. He simply turned his head to face his brother, "I never knew the ones who laid my egg," he said, "Nor do any of us. We cannot be sure that what this girl says is true, for she speaks only of rumors." With that Risasi walked off towards Shooter, walking silently beside his cart deep in thought. Breaking the awkward silence Kanaahn spoke again, "And what about the brown dragons?" he asked curiously. Kyeit paused, slowly looking towards Kanaahn, getting back into her mindset and then thought for a second before answering, "They were an ancient clan of dragons, one of the oldest. They were as tall as a silver dragon and as vicious as a black dragon. They were known for their skills in war and combat, however intelligence was never their strong point and they fell into a civil war over a trivial matter within the clan. The war wiped out half of the population, and disease and inbreeding in order to attempt to sustain their numbers wiped out the rest. Few of them remained, and the few that did joined, fought and died under Tenebrae's command. Now you can see why if any of these dragon ever reenter the battlefield, it will be a blood bath."

Kanaahn nodded slowly, turning his attention back towards the road. He was definitely afraid of facing these monsters, and hoped that he would be a fully-fledged Dragon Warrior before he had to face them at all. Meanwhile, Risasi looked at Shooter from the corner of his eye, giving a great heaving sigh. Shooter looked up at him, "Something wrong Risasi?" he asked. Risasi looked at Shooter, long and hard before saying, "Is the woman asleep?" he asked. Shooter looked at Risasi with a raised eyebrow, "You mean Arial?" he asked, "Yeah. She's been staying up late reading through the spell book Yomi gave her, as well as the one she purchased back in Küla. She was tired and decided to catch up on sleep. Why? What's up?" Risasi paused for a moment and took a deep breath, it rattled through his body making a low growling sound in his from his stomach. "Shooter, you are my human, so I trust you." He said, "There is…there is a possibility that I may be related to…or worse yet the son of and evil and feared dragon, one that was known to be nothing but a maniacal killer and murder of his people. It took my entire clan, the Darastrixi Charir, to take him down, but he would not go down until he took half of the clan down with him." Shooter was confused by Risasi's words; he was never one to be great with relaying his thoughts into words, "So you're worried that this might be true?" he asked. Risasi nodded and looked ahead, seemingly lost in space, "I am." He said, "But I cannot tell why. I am afraid of nothing normally, and now I fear my past. Is that a foolish thing to fear?"

Shooter quickly remembered his own parents, they weren't as evil as Risasi's rumored parents were supposed to be, but they were still pretty evil to him. For a fleeting moment, Shooter felt closer to Risasi, and for once he felt someone who could finally understand his pain and vice versa. "No," replied Shooter, "We all have our fears. To fear an uncertain and even dangerous past that could have profound affects on your future isn't a bad thing. Though dwelling on it isn't the best thing to do. Fear is fine as long as it doesn't control you." Risasi looked at Shooter in amazement, "You sound as wise as an old wyrm," chuckled the red dragon, sending small puffs of smoke through his nostrils and following them with his eyes until they dissolved into the sky, "It is unnatural for you. But your advice makes much sense. I thank you for your help, my human." Shooter nodded as he tugged the reigns back slightly, "We're friends right?" he asked, "That's what friends do." Risasi looked down at Shooter with a puzzled look, gently wisps of smoke still coming from his nose, he gave another chuckle and a rare but genuine smile, "I suppose we are," he said staring hard into space, "Yes." With that Risasi walked off towards the other dragons, glancing every so often towards Shooter and his wagon. "Friends" the word rang through Risasi's head over and over again, no one had ever really called him a friend, even the other dragons referred to him as "brother." This was something new for Risasi, to be considered a friend, and for some reason, it seemed to resonate with him in a way that Risasi couldn't understand.

The group walked for hours in silence, Kyeit talking about what their training would detail, pausing every so often as Kanaahn or one of the dragons would inject a question, which Kyeit was happy to answer. Awed by the details of their training, the group had gained a new drive and motivation to reach Ethon. "I'm ready to learn more fire magic." He said, "I need a lot more than Ixen if I'm going to take down Tenebrae and his army." Arial, who had woken up and changed wagons to join Kyeit gave a smile that burned with passion, "I'm going to track down those two Tsuru siblings and ask for their spell books so I can keep learning all kinds of magic. I've almost mastered the basics and I'm progressing well with restorative magic, though there are still a few spells that I can't seem to get at my level." Cecil, who had been riding with Arkas in his wagon, poked her head out the back and smiled at Arial's enthusiasm as Arkas pulled his wagon up beside Kanaahn's, "You'll have many well trained and master magic users to teach you in Ethon and among the Daron," she said, "You'll definitely learn twice as fast there." Arial beamed with excitement, she couldn't wait to reach the city and begin her training. Kanaahn turned to look at Arkas who had finally caught up with the group, "How's the rear watch coming?" he asked. Arkas nodded smiling, "Good," he said, "We're not being followed as far as me and Cecil could see, but we'll still keep an eye out until we're out of Altimara."

Kanaahn nodded in approval, "Perfect," he said happily, "And Valence and Kinokaze? Where are they?" This time Cecil responded, poking her head out of the front of the wagon next to Arkas, "I sent them above, they're keeping and aerial watch of the group. Anything we can't see following us, they can." Kanaahn nodded again, "Good thinking, it'll give us a long warning if they can stop attackers miles off." He said, "It will certainly give us an edge if we want to ambush." The next few kilometers were met with silence. Everyone quietly mulled over their next course of action once they reached the great city of Ethon. As Kanaahn scanned the sky for the time, he smiled as he saw two dark, winged figures circle around the carts from high in the air. "Those two dragons have been keeping watch all day, maybe it's time they took a break." He said quietly to himself. Raising his hand he motioned towards Djall and Fyete, as he did the two dragons walked towards him slowly. "Yes, Kanaahn?" inquired Djall curiously. Kanaahn looked to Djall calmly, "Can you two fly up to where Kinokaze and Valence are and tell them that they can take a break now? And would you also mind taking over for them for a bit?" Djall nodded, "Very well," said Djall. The dragon flapped his wings a few times, allowing wind to collect beneath his wings and cause a gale storm of dust to whip around the carriages. In a matter of seconds he shot into the sky like a rocket, flying high towards Valence and Kinokaze, Fyete following closely behind. From where they flew in the sky, they appeared no larger than a falcon.

A few seconds later there was a crashing thud, followed by a second one as Valence and Kinokaze landed on the long dirt path. A smile breached both their faces and Kanaahn raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Why so happy?" he asked. Valence walked towards him, her chest out and proud, "We're at the border to Estion!" she shouted in triumph, "We've made it!" The group gave a loud cheer, they were one step closer to reached Orichalum, and defeating Tenebrae. Kanaahn looked ahead and saw that Valence spoke the truth, a gnarled and weather beaten, wooden signpost sat on either side of the road. Two arrows sat on the top; the paint that marked them was worn away by years of baking in the sun. A few hundred feet ahead of the group stood a wall of trees that seemed to stretch forever in either direction. The trees seemed as tall as Risasi or even Valance. "We're definitely at the border," said Kanaahn, "That must be the fabled Forest of Estion." Cecil laughed, "You've never been to Estion have you?" she asked rhetorically, "The whole country is a forest." Arial smiled at the thought, "I've never seen a tree before!" she said excitedly, "Let alone a whole forest!" Arkas laughed at Arial's enthusiasm, "Who spiked your water this morning?" he asked jokingly and Arial responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

Kanaahn laughed and sighed and suddenly a long pausing silence filled the landscape. No one talked, and the only sound was the whistling breeze that gently blew across the desert. Everyone was thinking the same thing, this was it, and after they crossed the border there would be no turning back until their mission was complete. Kanaahn held his breath and exhaled slowly. "As soon as I cross this border I will be leaving the only place I ever called home,' he said pensively, not even aware he was talking, "We'll _all_ be leaving behind our home, our loved ones, our pasts, our identities. That's what Altimara meant to us. And now we are rejects from the place we once called safe. We are outcasts of our country, outlaws hunted by an un-rightful ruler. Fate is cruel and fast, and destiny is yet crueler. We wont be coming back until our job is done and Tenebrae is slain. But that is the price we pay for peace I suppose…but if this price means unwavering peace and permanent destruction of one of the darkest harbingers of evil yet. Then it is a price worth paying. For it is better to leave for a while for the betterment of all, then to leave forever for the betterment of none." The silence was further broken as Djall responded, "That is very wise of you Kanaahn," he said. Kanaahn nodded, still staring hard ahead of him, he took a deep breath as he flicked the reigns of the wagon. Shooter and Arkas followed suit and soon all three wagons were gaining speed and rushing towards the forests. And so it was, they had left Altimara. They're journey had now truly started, and their destinies were now taking shape.


	4. Chapter 2: The Forests of Estion

Chapter 2: The Forests of Estion

As soon as the group hit the cover of the trees, their surroundings became instantly darkened. As if someone had pulled a blanket over the sun and dimmed it's light. The tall trees stood high over the group, only Valence and Risasi escaped the massive heights of the trees. Kanaahn, Arial, Shooter and Arkas all stared at the surrounding forest in awe. "The closest we've come to seeing this many natural plants in our lives, was one year when a group of five cacti grew just outside of town." Noted Kanaahn. "It's sad but true," replied Shooter, "All of Altimara is one large desert. And whatever's not desert is a desolate wasteland." Kyeit and Cecil frowned, "So you're saying that all you ever see is sand and heat?" asked Cecil. Arial nodded and sighed, "Yup," she said, "They say the country died with Queen Lijad, and it hasn't bore plant life since." Kyeit looked back at the desert wasteland that was Altimara, as it slowly sunk out of view, "That's just a tale though, right?" she asked, she was never one that liked supernatural phenomena, "I mean, the land didn't _really_ die with Queen Lijad did it?" Shooter shrugged, "For all we know, it may as well have," he said, "The story tellers of the village used to tell tales that said that the moment Queen Lijad's blood dripped onto the sacrificial table, the plants began to whither away and die. From there it was a matter of hours before the country was reduced to a wasteland." "But do you guys believe that?" asked Kyeit curiously. This time Kanaahn replied, "I'm not sure," he said, "It's one of those things that you know can't be true, but you can't help but believe in it because there's no other explanation."

Kyeit nodded in understanding, willing to change the subject she quickly asked, "What was Altimara like before it became a desert?" There was a pause of silence as Arkas, Arial, Shooter and Kanaahn thought about this question. They didn't know from first hand experience, but they had heard from stories told by elders. After a few minutes, Arkas answered, "From what I remember about the Elder's stories, northern Altimara including the capital of Kasaadua were composed of lush valleys and rivers, rolling hills covered the landscape and famers of livestock covered the hills. The western and central lands where we come from-the areas surrounding Ottogard and Küla in other words-were mountainous and covered in rolling foothills and large mountains. The mountains and hills were overfilled with rich amounts of precious, semi precious and common metal ores. They say diamonds used to fill the caves of Mount Pinnacle and the surrounding mountains. There were flat plains and grasslands to the east of Küla, prairies and farmland. Farmers used to farm all sorts of plentiful vegetables and produce. It was a beautiful place with gentle warm breezes and small brooks and creeks. And to the south, instead of harsh rocky deserts, forests covered the entire land. It was said that Estion and Altimara were brother and sister countries, because their two forests were attached to each other, obscuring the border line from sight."

Cecil, Kyeit and even the dragons looked at Arkas in awe, imaging the beauty that was one the country of Altimara. Valence and Kinokaze, however, were the only ones who seemed un-phased by this description. A pensive look of great though seemed to fill the two dragons' faces, "I wonder…" whispered Valence to no one in particular, "It's quiet possible," replied Kinokaze, equally as quiet, "It would make sense and certainly explain-" Valence cut her off with another nod, and replied, "Yes, it would. We should alert Orichalum-ith and Leon-ushakal of this when we're there. They should know about this theory." Kanaahn, who had noticed Valence's and Kinokaze's muted conversation, raised his eyebrow and looked at them. "Care to share you two?" he asked smiling. Valence raised an eyebrow and gave a wry smile, "No," she said, "It is nothing important. Just a small blathering of the mind, certainly nothing to pay heed to Kanaahn-pliso." Kanaahn wanted to press Valence for more information, but was taken aback as the word Valence used after his name, "Pliso?" he asked curiously. Kyeit smiled at Kanaahn and then looked at Valence, "You've gained an honorific Kanaahn, it means you have Valence's respect." She said. Valence nodded in affirmation. "You fought valiantly in the Battle of Xiar young human," she said, "Because of your valor in killing the traitorous wyrm Ölüm and sending his rider fleeing with his tail between his legs back to Tenebrae, you have earned the honorific pliso. I believe in your tongue it translates to master. Though in our language it is used for those who we believe have great potential."

Kanaahn beamed at Valence, "Thank you," he said, "I appreciate it." Valence nodded and then turned her attention back towards the road ahead. The group continued to walk in silence for an hour from that point. As they walked, Djall's face seemed to grow into a troubled look, which worsened with each passing step until he frowned so profoundly that he looked as if his face were frozen like that. Kanaahn, who could feel his dragon's growing unrest was the first to inquire, "Djall, what's wrong?" he asked. "I-I'm not sure," answered Djall hesitantly, "But for some reason, it feels like I've been here before. I feel at home, natural. I feel comfortable here in this forest, and I know that I have _never_ set foot outside of Altimara in my life. You can attest to that Kanaahn, seeing as I only hatched three months ago." Kanaahn nodded and placed a hand to his chin in thought, "That's true, though it's hard to believe it's been three months already," he noted with a smile. Djall chuckled, "I can understand what you mean," he said, "Three months ago I did not tower so high above the world as I do now." Valence gave a bursting laugh, "You are not so tall and towering to me, Djall-isthasy." She said, "To me you and your siblings are still small hatchlings, with many more years of experience to go before you can truly be called 'towering'." Fyete was the first to respond to Valence's comment, "That may be true, Valence-myvish, but compare you to your father and you are the same as us." He said.

Valence gave a low, almost inaudible growl, but didn't press the issue further. Everyone turned their attention back towards Djall as Valence returned to her world of thoughts. Kanaahn was the first to speak again saying, "Djall, think, there has to be some reason this place is so familiar to you? Maybe you came through here in a past life?" Djall and Fyete burst out into laughter at that comment, "Kanaahn," explained Djall, "Dragons do not believe in reincarnation. We believe that after death, our souls live on. The souls of dragons will travel across the continent to the birthplace of dragons, the mountains of Anglum. The souls continue to live on in Waere di Sepa, the Cave of Souls." Kanaahn nodded, pretending to understand the dragon lore, though he briefly remembered glancing at something about the Cave of Souls in the Xiar Library. "Well then, I don't know what to tell you." Said Kanaahn, "Hmm…actually, are dragons aware of the outside world while they are still in their eggs?" Adalinda was the first to respond, "Yes, we are very much aware of the world outside of our shells before we hatch." She said, "A dragon's consciousness is not limited to the barriers in which they are placed. Our minds can extend beyond such barriers as our eggs, or the walls of our caves to sense the outside world for threats and dangers. It's what makes us avid hunters and foreseers." Arial looked at Adalinda with curiosity, "Just a random question, would it be possible to do that?" she asked, "To be aware of the world around you, and link your consciousness with it?"

Adalinda shrugged, "I do not know if it is possible for humans to do," she said honestly, "But for dragons it is a second instinct, we do not need to think about it, it just happens for us." Kyeit looked over at Cecil, the two of them gave silent, serious nods and then turned towards Arial. "It _is_ possible for a human to link their consciousness to the world around them and foresee events about to happen," said Kyeit in a serious tone, "However, it is a difficult skill to master, and takes a lot of self discipline to learn. Therefore, do not expect to be taught it before you have reached Argentum." Arial nodded somberly, "Oh, all right then." She said, "I still can't wait to learn it though." Kanaahn looked at Kyeit, Adalinda and Arial and sighed, "Can we get back to the point please?" he asked, the three of them nodded and Kanaahn turned back to Djall. As he did, Djall instantly looked up with a brightened smile, "Wait, I vaguely remember something!" exclaimed the dragon, "It's faint, but it's back from when I was an egg. Several hundred years ago, I passed through a place, and around me I could feel nothing but life, both plant and animal life. And the feeling that I got then is the same feeling that I'm getting now." Kanaahn looked at Djall with interest, "Are you sure?" he asked, "If it was several hundred years ago you could be mistaken." Djall nodded, "I'm sure, positive now." He said, "This feeling is unique and I have never felt like this before anywhere. This is the same feeling as then. It's strange though…this place feels very much like a home to me. I feel as if I could settle down here and live in the trees for the rest of my life."

Valence looked over at the group, her look showed that she was intent on joining the conversation again, "If you wouldn't mind an interjection from a knowledgeable dragon?" she half asked, half proclaimed. "Not at all, Valence-myvish." Nodded Djall. Valence returned the nod and continued, "This forest, it is the ancient clan territory of your clan Djall, the Darastrixi Achuak, it is also their ancient breeding grounds. Your egg was laid here in this forest over a millennium ago, by your sire and your dam, Astron and Sisanali." Djall looked over at Valence in disbelief, "My people lived here?" he asked, "In these forests?" Kinokaze answered this time, "Yes, they did, and still do." She said, "Though they migrate around the forest often, so we may or may not meet them while we are here." Djall gave a low rumble of pleasure and smiled, he bounced up and down as a child would for a surprise, "It is heartening," he said, "To know that I am not the last of my kind."

Cecil laughed, her voice slightly hoarse from her silence throughout the trip, "You didn't think that you were the last of your race did you?" she asked. Fyete nodded, "Actually yes, we did to be honest." He said, "We all thought that we were the last of our respective races. Actually at first we thought we were the last dragons on Earth, until we met Valence and Shang's dragon, Eraden." Cecil laughed again, "That means that we have been doing our jobs well then," she said, "You see, for the last ten centuries, the Daron and the Metallic Dragons have been doing our best to hide the dragon clans from King Rego's destructive hand. We made sure they were kept secret, and kept safe. If even the descendants of the Five Dragon Clans were not aware of their peoples existence, then it means we have kept them very secret and very safe." Adalinda looked over at Cecil, her bright blue eyes soft and jewel like, "Can we know the locations of the other clans? I wish to find my people, and those who laid my egg." She said. Cecil frowned and shook her head, "No, I'm sorry." She said, "I cannot reveal the locations of the other clans. It is my duty. I cannot tell you until you figure it out on your own, or at least get the same feeling as Djall did. When you feel as he did, you will know where your homes are." Fyete opened his mouth to argue and reason with Cecil, but Adalinda flicked her left wing open and retracted it quickly as if to silence him. "Do not argue Fyete, she must hold to her word." She said, Adalinda turned to Cecil and smiled, "Very well kind human. I appreciate your generosity and help, no matter how limited."

Cecil nodded and did a half bow from where she sat, smiling up at the large white dragon. As the group simultaneously turned to face the road ahead, there came a low roar from the surrounding forests. Followed by a chorus of deep growling and rumbling. Everyone froze, and the dragons crouched down slightly, lowering their heads and bearing their teeth. Their demeanor becoming fierce and defensive, they growled in answer to their unknown followers. Kanaahn, Arkas and Shooter halted their carts and dashed towards Arkas's wagon. They pulled out everyone's weapons and passed them around. Kanaahn raised his sword and scanned the surrounding trees, "What was that?" he asked as another roar emanated again. Kyeit shrugged silently and dismounted from the wagon, her sword raised as well. As she stood beside Kanaahn, both of them in a defensive and ready stance, "I'm not sure," she whispered, "I just pray it gives up, whatever it is, and we never have to find out." Kanaahn nodded in agreement, as another roar came, "Though I doubt we'll be that lucky," he said regretfully. "Shhh!" hissed Cecil as she closed her eyes, trying to locate their assailants from the roars. Cecil's search was cut short by a loud crashing thud from behind the group. Everyone wheeled around instantly, their defensive stances increasing their intensity, but no sooner had they turned around, did they drop their guard in surprise. "T-they'yre…" said Djall in amazement. Cecil and Kyeit looked at each other in shock. Shooter Arkas, Arial and the rest of the dragons were completely dumbfounded, and Kanaahn's response was, "No…it couldn't be." A roar escaped their attackers-who now stood in full view-a third time, and there were more thuds as they walked closer to the group, circling and surrounding them. Djall smiled with pure delight as he looked at four, fully grown green dragons, who now circled around him and the others with the intent to kill. "Green dragons…" said Djall softly, "I have found my people."


	5. Chapter 3: The Green Dragon Clan

Chapter 3: The Green Dragon Clan

"Well that certainly answers my question," said Kanaahn sarcastically, "Though, I think I would rather have been ignorant to what made the roaring noise now. Green Dragons aren't hostile, are they Kyeit?" Kyeit glanced over at Kanaahn and smiled sheepishly, "Well, that depends," she said. "On what exactly?" asked Kanaahn. Kyeit hesitated before answering, "How hungry they are." She said plainly. Kanaahn quickly raised and lowered his eyebrows, "Ah, lovely," he said sarcastically. At that moment, the largest of the four dragons stepped towards the group, his teeth bared, he spoke in a low growling voice. "Who are you? Why do you travel through our sacred lands?" demanded the dragon, his voice was deep, rough and seemed battle hardened and filled with experience, but despite that the dragon seemed relatively young. Valence stepped between the dragon and the group, he glared at the green dragon and released a loud, violent roar that shook the forest and caused animals and birds from miles around to fly away in fear. Even Djall and the other dragons, including the four dragons that surrounded them recoiled in fear. "Glay'ak you fool!" she shouted, "Tepoha wux woari irthir svaust si mi? Tepoha wux woari irthir svaust si ossalur mrith? Sjek dout maekrix usv Aurum jahen ekess ehtah ekik zahae nomeno astahii ornla tepoha dout fothisev! Oprinqu dout tiichi vur origato udoka dolruth!" The large green dragon, Glay'ak, knelt without hesitation to Valence as she finished speaking. Valence's sides and chest heaved as she regained her breath, no one, not even Kyeit had seen her in this great of a rage. Kyeit quietly walked towards Valence's side and placed her hand on her dragon's haunch. "Valence, relax," she said soothingly.

Valence ignored Kyeit but calmed nonetheless, she snorted and gave a small snarl. "I do not appreciate having my authority openly challenged," she whispered so none but Kyeit could hear. "Vucoti valence, pamon tiric, shar batobot tiric ti shala dout korinth." Said Kyeit, switching to the Draconic tongue, "Petranas xoal desta ekess rihlilg doutan persvek wer papref? Si tir ti tuor dout harkaj ekess itrewic wer desta di wux vur ouith udoka." Valence gave a low purring noise from within her chest and snorted a final time, she turned around and trudged back to the wagons, standing behind Kanaahn and Kyeit. Glay'ak looked down at Djall, noticing him for what seemed like the first time, and seemed shocked. "You are…" he said, "Please, Warriors, follow us to our breeding grounds. I am sure our leader would be more than pleased to see you, as well as the rest of our clan, you will be a great boost in morale." Glay'ak turned around and began to walk north through the forests. Kanaahn and Djall both ran up beside Glay'ak, hoping to talk with him more. As they caught up with the large green dragon, the Kanaahn and Djall noticed that the trees had begun to grow taller as they moved further north. Soon the trees towered high above even Valence, blocking out the sun and causing a false darkness to envelope everyone.

Djall was the first to catch up with Glay'ak, Kanaahn took several minutes longer, and required several long, running strides to match Djall's footstep distance. When the two were finally on either side of Glay'ak the dragon spoke, "You have questions I assume?" asked Glay'ak without looking down at either Kanaahn or Djall. Kanaahn nodded, "Yes," he said, "Well, for me one, though I'm sure Djall has many." Glay'ak raised a thick, scaled brow and glanced at Djall, "So that is his name?" he asked, "Djall? A perfect name, did you name him?" Kanaahn nodded again, "I did, I named him after a famous dragon from an old legend that Arial's mother used to tell us as a bed time story." Glay'ak chuckled, "Again, a very fitting name." he said. Kanaahn raised an eyebrow, "How so?" he asked. Glay'ak shrugged, "That is not for me to say, but you shall find out in due time young Warrior." Said the dragon. Kanaahn smiled, "More cryptic dragon talk, huh?" he asked. Glay'ak gave a booming laugh that echoed through the trees and caused nearby birds to flee. The laugh was followed by a short pause, which was soon interrupted by Kanaahn, "Before I forget," he said, "I would like to ask my question." Glay'ak nodded for Kanaahn to proceed, "You mentioned before that showing me and the rest of the Warriors to the clan would raise morale," started Kanaahn, "Are spirits that low?" Glay'ak's face suddenly went serious, he stared ahead and walked silently for a few minutes before answering, "Well, it is not my place to speak for the clan, but what I can tell you is, we were at a point where we started to believe the Dragon Warriors would never return. We've been in hiding for ten centuries, and with each passing year Rego and his descendants have been closing in on us more and more. We were about to give up and turn ourselves in to death. But now that you and the other Warriors have returned to save us all, the clan can live in peace knowing that we'll be safe soon."

Kanaahn nodded, "I've been getting that a lot believe it or not," he said smiling. Glay'ak laughed again, "I'm not surprised. The world was on the brink of collapse just a few months ago. Now that you've shown up people are finally starting to see the light in things. They're building their lives back up again, and they're starting to take up arms against the darkness. The Daron has never had so many new recruits as they've had in the past few weeks. Even the dragons are starting to rally up armies, preparing for the day when you will march across the plains of Altimara to the gates of the capitol of Kasaadua, break down the three stone walls of the ancient city and slay Tenebrae where he stands." Glay'ak chuckled again, "What a fine day that will be…" he said pensively, "Do me a favor, Kanaahn?" Kanaahn nodded, "Sure, what is it?" he asked. Glay'ak smiled, "Give the clan Tenebrae's head as a gift once you've lopped it off?" he asked, "We've always dreamed of the day we could mount it on one of the tallest trees of our burial ground, as a warning to all evil in the world not to mess with justice." It was Kanaahn who laughed this time, "You want the head you've got it Glay'ak." He said, "Now, I'm going to shut up because I think Djall has a few questions he wants answered before we reach the clan." Glay'ak nodded and turned his head to look at Djall, "So Djall-ghergopliso, what questions do you have?" asked Glay'ak. Djall didn't hesitate, "I want to know about my parents," said Djall, "I want to know more about them." Glay'ak nodded sagely, "As to be expected," he said, "But, once again, it is not my place to say. Besides, you will find out soon enough, once we reach the camp."

Djall held back a snarl of frustration, "I have waited a thousand years to hatch and one day meet my parents." He said firmly, "I want to know." Glay'ak simply smiled and stayed silent, "Much like you're father you are," he said, "And a spitting image of him too." This information only bit at Djall's curiosity further, but he held back questions as almost instantly the reached a massive cleared. Glay'ak smiled, "We're here," he said. Kanaahn looked around, he couldn't see much, except that the trees now towered so high that he couldn't see the top, and that it was almost evening and the sky had taken on an orange tinge. Glay'ak gave another booming laugh and pointed with his nose towards the sky, "You should know by now, Kanaahn, things aren't always as they appear." He said, "Look up." Kanaahn's eyes, and the eyes of everyone else in the group shot upwards towards the sky. "Wow…" said Arkas, "It's amazing, who would've thought…" Cecil nodded, "I've heard stories about this place…I never thought it would be this amazing." Kanaahn's mouthed gaped in awe, as he saw hundreds of large wooden platforms that rested on each level of branches on the trees. Each platform had a thatched roof overtop and thick wooden walls, they were like false caves. "Welcome, Warriors, to Taoul di Skjalli. The City of Trees." Said Glay'ak mystically. "How are we supposed to get up there?" asked Kanaahn. Glay'ak smiled, "Fly of course," he said, "Do not worry about your horses and wagons, they will be taken care of until you depart."

Kanaahn nodded and mounted Djall, "Alright then, lead the way." Glay'ak spread his wings and shot into the air, Djall did the same and in seconds he, Valence, Fyete, Risasi and the rest of the dragons were gliding through the air. Kanaahn looked over at Kyeit and smiled, she smiled back and Djall leaned to his left and glided closer to Valence so that they flew beside each other. "Have you been here before Kyeit?" asked Kanaahn. Kyeit shook her head, "Never," she said, "In fact, no humans have ever set foot inside of any of the dragon cities before. We're the first." Kanaahn beamed at that, and felt honored. He looked around at all the platforms, observing all the dragons as they went about their daily lives. Several of the dragons, all of varying sizes and ages, ran to the edges of their platform homes and watched Kanaahn and his friends rise higher through the trees, flying towards the highest platform in the highest tree. Every so often Kanaahn would fly close enough to a platform to hear phrases in Draconic, many of which he didn't understand, but from what he got of the tone of voice; they were praising him and the other Warriors. Finally after several long moments of flying, Glay'ak reached their destination. He gently touched down on a massive platform, it was definitely the largest Kanaahn had seen so far, for it stretched across sever—twenty if not thirty—trees. In the centre of the massive platform were two massive dragons, both dressed in gold plated armor. Around them stood several very large, old dragons, "I'm going to guess those are the clan leaders?" asked Kanaahn as he hopped from Djall's saddle, Kyeit nodded, "Yes," answered Kyeit. "What are their names?" asked Kanaahn. Kyeit simply smiled and dismounted Valence, "You'll find out soon enough." She said.

Glay'ak lead the group towards the clan leaders and elders. As they reached the group of dragons, Glay'ak bowed, and so did Djall and the other dragons. Kanaahn glanced over at Kyeit, then to Cecil and then to Arial, they all shrugged and without hesitation they bowed as well. Shooter and Arkas quickly followed suit. "Hail o great leaders of our clan, Darastrixi Achuak." Said Glay'ak as he came up from the bow. "You have brought with you some guests, Glay'ak?" asked the male leader rhetorically. " A ragtag group of dragons from the other clans, a group of humans, and Valence-usjalil and Kinzokaze-usjalil." Said the female leader, "You know of all people know that outsiders, especially humans, "If you would please hear my explanation," said Glay'ak bowing his head "You see, Astron-daar, Sisanali-daariv. They are not just a group of humans and dragons they are the Darastrix Arytissi. Valence-usjalil and Kinokaze-usjalil, and their riders, Kyeit Karaglen and Cecil Wynn, are accompanying them." Everyone quickly looked up at Djall, "Those names," whispered Kanaahn, "That means they're-" Djall cut them off with a gasp, "My parents…" he whispered. Sisanali raised an eyebrow and scanned the group of Warriors; Astron did the same, only with twice the scrutiny. "How can you be sure of this?" asked Sisanali. "Because I'm your son." Said Djall. Silence fell over the platform, and for a moment all eyes were on Djall. Sisanali walked from her spot beside Astron and circled Djall, eyeing him. After the second walk around Djall, Sisanali's eyes began to soften and for a second Kanaahn thought she saw tears. "My son…you have hatched, and now you return to visit your people," she said. Astron looked down at Djall, his stone set face softened with a fatherly smile, "Welcome home my son," he said, "Or should I call you Djall now." Djall smiled, "I must confess, this meeting is by accident, it was not my original intention to come here." Said Djall without hesitation; "Mostly because my knowledge of your whereabouts came into existence just a few moments before Glay'ak appeared. Though if I had known that my parents and people lived here, I would have made sure to come by sooner."

Astron laughed, a booming laugh similar to Glay'ak's, only deeper, "You speak like a diplomat my son," he said. Sisanali bent her head down so that it was level with Kanaahn, she smiled softly and said, "You are the one who hatched and named Djall yes?" Kanaahn nodded, "I am," he said, "I am his rider, his partner and his friend." At that Djall chuckled, "Kanaahn and I have had many interesting…experiences, together." He said. Kanaahn nodded in agreement and smiled, "You could call them that," he retorted. Sisanali smiled at Kanaahn, "Thank you for watching over my son," she said, "I can that you two are closely bonded as dragon and rider." Kanaahn nodded, "It's no problem, apart from the incident where he ate my cloak and half of my friends garden after hatching, he's been good." There was a reminiscent chuckle from the entire group on the platform as the either imagined or remembered this scene. Kanaahn and the group spent the next couple of hours speaking with Sisanali, Astron and the green dragon elders. They each told their versions of their travel from Küla to Ottogard, and then from Ottogard to Xiar. They spoke of the training they received from Shang, the reading they did in the Xiar Library, meeting Kyeit and Cecil, fighting in the Battle of Xiar, meeting Yu and Zu, meeting two of the Tsuru elders, and then traveling across the border to Estion and meeting Glay'ak. They spoke for hours, and broke every few minutes to answer constant questions from Sisanali, Astron or one of the dragon elders. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally finished their stories and Astron nodded sagely. After a long quiet pause, Astron spoke, "Well, it is getting late, and I am sure you are tired from your long journey here. A platform below ours has been set-aside for you, and beds of straw and cloth have been set aside for all of you."

Kanaahn nodded and everyone bowed in thanks, as they turned around to leave, Djall stopped and turned to face his parents. "Would I be allowed to stay?" he asked them, "I have so many questions that I want answers for, and I do not know how long we shall spend here." Astron looked to his wife, and the two nodded and looked back at Djall, "You may," they said, "Your request is not unreasonable or unjustified. You may stay; we will do our best to answer your questions. But what of your rider?" Djall looked back at Kanaahn, Kanaahn nodded and said, "It's okay Djall, I'll ride down with Kyeit and Valence. Enjoy the time with your parents, we may not come back here until after the war is over, this might be your last chance for a while." Djall nodded and walked back towards the center of the wooden platform. Kanaahn ran up to Kyeit and jumped behind her on Valence's saddle, "Can I get a ride?" he asked. Valence nodded and took off; she shot into the air and glided down a few levels in the trees. Valence landed smoothly on a platform that rested in the branches of the same tree, a few hundred feet below where Astron and Sisanali were. Kanaahn and Kyeit hopped from Valence's saddle and landed with a thump onto the wooden floor below. Kyeit looked at Kanaahn as they stood up and straigtened their swords, "Can we talk?" she asked him quietly. Kanaahn nodded, "Yeah, sure," he said. Kyeit looked at Valence, giving her a look that meant she could go on ahead. Valence winked at her and walked towards the rest of the group at the center of the massive platform.

Kanaahn and Kyeit walked in the opposite direction, going towards the edge of the platform. As they reached the edge, Kanahan leaned against a nearby support beam—which seemed to erupt from the floor like another tree—and looked at Kyeit. Kyeit looked him in the eyes and sighed, "Kanaahn, there's something I want to tell you, because I don't want you to be mad at me when it happens," she said, "When we reach Ethon, we wont be able to spend as much time together while we're there. We can still hang out when we have free time, but it wont be like it is now, or was before when you were training at the Tormenting Pinnacle with Master Shang. You'll be busy training with the Dragon Master there, and Cecil and I will be busy with stuff for the Daron. I just...I don't want you to be mad about this…because I do like you; I really do, a lot. In fact, I more than like you, Kanaahn I love you." Kanaahn smiled and straightened up, putting his hands on Kyeit's shoulders he smiled at her, "I wont be mad," he said, kissing her on the forehead, "I expected that would happen, you have your duties and I have mine. As long as we can still spend some time together, then I'm happy." Kyeit smiled and wrapped her arms around Kanaahn and hugged him, leaning her head against his chest. She sighed happily and hugged him tight, "Thank you Kanaahn," she said, "I love you." Kanaahn smiled and raised her chin with his hand, he kissed her and as he pulled back he smiled and said, "I love you too, Kyeit." Kyeit smiled and hugged him again, holding on a little longer before she let go. Kyeit smiled at Kanaahn and took his head, together the two walked back towards the center of the platform towards everyone else. As they reached the covered section of the platform, Kanaahn noticed that the group had been divided in two. On one side of the covered section were the dragons, and on the other side were Cecil, Arial and Arkas, the three of them already tucked under their blankets and lying sideways on their bedrolls talking amongst each other. Cecil and Arial looked up as Kanaahn and Kyeit walked back to them, hand in hand. Kyeit and Kanaahn exchanged a final loving look before letting go of each other's hands and walked to opposite sides of the covered section. They crawled under the blankets of the their bedrolls and lay on their sides, like the others and joined the conversation.

"So," said Kanaahn, "What were you talking about?" Cecil looked over at Arial and Arkas and then back at Kanaahn, "We were just discussing what was going to happen once we reached Ethon," she said, "We were discussing the training you were going to go through." Kanaahn nodded, "Ah," he said, "That makes sense." Arkas looked at Kanaahn, "You might like some of the stuff we're going to learn. We'll be learning dragon lore and history, dragon customs, the draconic language, and a lot of new fighting forms. Personally I would like to stick to my bow and arrow, I haven't missed a shot in six years. It's going to be hard trading it in for a sword." Kyeit looked at Arkas, "You wont have to trade in your bow and arrow, I'm sure if you explain to Master Austrica he would be willing to train you further in your archery skill." She explained, "In the past many of the Dragon Warriors were each masters of different fighting forms. It's an advantage to the group. Master Austrica will understand." Arkas beamed with excitement, "Sweet!" he said, "I get to keep my reputation as a dead eye! I can see it now, Arkas Nazzer, Dragon Warrior, Ladies Man, Dead Eye-" Kanaahn cut him off, "Egotistical Moron." He added. Everyone laughed, including Arkas, "Hey," said Arkas defensively, "I can dream can't I?" Arial looked over at Cecil with a raised eyebrow and curious look, "Hey, uh, this Master Austrica," she started, "What's he like?" Cecil smiled as she got Arial's drift and said, "You'll like him," she said, "He's strict, but fair. Tough but soft hearted. Strong but gentle mature and at the same time still childish." Arial's eyes seemed to shine as she envisioned him, to which Kanaahn said, "You make the guy seem like a walking poem." Cecil nodded and Kyeit laughed, "Something like that," said Cecil, "You'll have to meet him first." Kanaahn smiled and sighed, "Well, all right then." He said, he rolled over onto his back and let out a long yawn. "I think it's time we got some sleep," he said, "I want to leave early tomorrow, we have a long road ahead of us. The nearest town isn't as near as I hoped." Everyone nodded in agreement and they each crawled deeper under the covers of their bedrolls. As they each said their goodnights they quickly drifted off into their dreams.


	6. Chapter 4: Tradition

Chapter 4: Tradition

Kanaahn woke the sound of birds chirping in the trees. He stretched and yawned as he sat up. Kanaahn couldn't help but smile, he had never woken up to any pleasant sounds in particular, save for the times when Mrs. Gainsborough woke up singing on her anniversary, of course that hadn't happened in 7 years, not since Mr. Gainsborough passed away. Kanaahn sighed and stood up, and ran his hands through his waist length hair a few times before he was sure he was happy with it. He looked around and saw that Kyeit and Cecil were already awake, Arkas was just waking up, and Arial—of course—was still asleep, her hair was a mess. Kanaahn smiled and walked over to Arial, he was about to shake her awake and scare her when Kyeit shot him a warning look, "Don't do it," she said, "I mean it." Kanaahn laughed and stood up, "Fine, fine," he said, "I wont do it." Kyeit walked over to Kanaahn and put her arms around him kissing him, "Good morning," she said smiling,  
>"Sleep well?" Kanaahn smiled and nodded, "Very," he answered, "You?" Kyeit nodded in response. Their moment was cut short by a loud crashing thud and then a long creaking noise that sounded like a tree about to break. Arial jumped from her bedroll—afraid that the platform was about to fall down—but quickly relaxed as she noticed the sound had come from Djall's unusually loud landing, and that despite the added and sudden stress that it had put on the tree and it's branches, the platform was sturdy and would hold. The other dragons—who had been lying down resting with their eyes half closed and their bodies curled up like cats—merely opened their eyes and lifted their heads slightly before falling back into their half sleep. Arial groaned and stood up, unable to fall asleep again, and got ready for her day. Kanaahn, Kyeit, Arkas and Cecil ran over to Djall to see what was up, "Good morning Djall," greeted Kanaahn, waving, "What's with the loud entrance?" Arkas nodded, "Yeah, you're usually never that loud when you land," he said.<p>

Djall smiled down at the four humans and laughed, "Today is a good day for you and I, Kanaahn," he said. Kanaahn raised an eyebrow, "Why so?" he asked. Djall laughed again, "Because we have been given the greatest honor any dragon can give to another, especially to a human." Kanaahn inquired further, "What honor?" he asked intrigued. Djall smiled and paused before telling Kanaahn, "We are being made members of the Darastrixi Achuak!" exclaimed Djall, "It was originally only supposed to be me, but my parents decided it would only make sense to include my rider, you, in the ceremony. In a few hours we are going to be official members of Clan Darastrixi Achuak." Kanaahn smiled excitedly, "Really?" he asked. Kyeit smiled and wrapped her arms around Kanaahn's bicep, "Kanaahn, you're lucky," she said, "Dragons rarely let humans into their clan grounds, but to have made it into their clan grounds _and_ to be made a member of clan, especially as a human, is a great honor. You should feel honored." Kanaahn smiled and said, "I am honored, believe me. To be considered one of them, it's empowering and invigorating. I've never had a family of my own, but now that I'm being made a member of the Green Dragon Clan…it's kind of like getting a family, it gives me a whole new reason to fight. That makes three."

Kyeit raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Oh?" she asked, "And what are the other two reason?" Kanaahn smiled, "Freedom, and you." Kyeit smiled and blushed, she leaned forward and kissed Kanaahn on the cheek, "Aww, you're sweet." She said. Kanaahn smiled back at her, "It's true," he said, "I do fight for you." At that instant Arial poked her head between Kanaahn and Kyeit's, her arms slung around both their shoulders. "If we could get on with the details?" she said jokingly. Kanaahn laughed and turned back to Djall, "So when's the ceremony?" he asked. Djall smiled, "Now," he said excitedly. Kanaahn looked at Djall as if he had just swallowed his own tongue, "Djall, there is no possible way I could get properly dressed and ready for a ceremony this important in a matter of seconds-" Djall cut him off with a laugh, "Do not worry about formalities Kanaahn," he said, "The ceremony is simple, due to the fact that we are pressed for time. No, the festivities after have been cut, it is a simple occasion, only us and my parents and the elders will be attending. And we may leave after the ceremony. Glay'ak will take us back to the main road." Kanaahn sighed and nodded, "All right then," he said, "What do we have to loose. Come on, let's get going, I want to be on the road before midday. We still need to reach Romontya." Everyone nodded and mounted their dragons. As Kanaahn sat in the leather saddle that Shang had made for Djall several months ago, he noticed that the saddle seemed to shift less as Djall moved, almost as if it was part of Djall. It was then that Kanaahn noticed that Djall was starting to outgrow the saddle, "We'll need to get you a new saddle when we're in Ethon," said Kanaahn. Djall nodded as he lifted off from the platform and flew to the highest platform in the entire forest. Djall landed with an equally loud thump as the first time when he reached the platform. Once the entire group was assembled, a dragon elder—who seemed of exceptional age—walked forward and told everyone who wasn't Djall and Kanaahn to walked behind Astron and Sisanali, while Djall and Kanaahn were told to stand side by side at the end of the platform, directly in front of the two Clan leaders. A few minutes later they were walking towards Djall's parents, each step seemed quiet and somber. Kanaahn felt like he was on a death march, then he remembered why he was walking this way and he smiled, beamed, happy that he was about to be accepted into a family, a family of his own. Kanaahn and Djall finally reached Sisanali and Astron, and so the ceremony began.

It had been hours since the ceremony, and Kanaahn still couldn't help but smile. He flicked the reigns of the wagon, causing the horse that pulled it to go faster. Kyeit sat in the back of Kanaahn's wagon, she was fast asleep, tired from an already long tiring day. Cecil and Arkas were a few feet to Kanaahn's left, talking vigorously back and forth, the topic was inaudible, though from what Kanaahn heard it was something about dragons. Arial was flying above on Adalinda's back, the rest of the dragons—save for Valence and Kinokaze—flew with them, scanning the ground below them for any signs of danger or ambush. And Shooter, who had been so quiet since they left Xiar, was only a foot away from Kanaahn, to his right. Kanaahn looked over at Shooter, he and Risasi had been spending a lot of time together lately, and not that that had bothered Kanaahn, but it made him feel like he was loosing contact with his friend. Kanaahn sighed and looked ahead again, engrossed deep in thought, no one thought trail was specific, in fact, Kanaahn's thoughts were wild and sporadic, like multiple lightning strikes each popping up seconds after each other. Kanaahn was jerked from his thoughts by an unexpected voice, it took a few seconds to realize that it was Shooter who spoke—for Kanaahn had barely heard his voice in weeks. "Where are we headed to next?" asked Shooter, not taking his eyes off the road ahead. Kanaahn hesitated for a second before answering, gathering his scattered thoughts, "Romontya," answered Kanaahn, "It's a small village north west of here, it's about the same size as Küla—from what I saw on the map at least."

Shooter nodded slowly, "Ah," he said, "Cool. How long are we staying there?" Kanaahn answered faster this time, "Only for tonight. We'll stock up on supplies, food, water; meat for the dragons, stuff like that. After that we'll find a place to sleep unnoticed, though we'll have to leave the dragons out in the forest for the night, they're too large to bring into town." Shooter looked at Kanaahn for the first time in this conversation, a worried expression spread across his face, "We have to leave them alone?" he asked. Kanaahn nodded and gave a small smile, "Well we can't take them into town with us, they'll attract too much attention," he said, "We don't know how people in this country feel about dragons yet, and until we do we'll have to keep ours hidden. Don't worry, Shooter, the dragons aren't hatchlings anymore, they're almost full size, they've developed breath powers, and if all else fails they have Valence around. And if her sheer height doesn't scare away attackers, her temper sure will." Shooter gave a small nodded and turned his attention back to the road, "Alright then," he said quietly. Kanaahn gave a quiet heavy sigh, "Look, Shooter, relax." He said, "Risasi will be fine, we can keep them with us once we reach Ethon, but for now it's best we sleep apart so that we're not recognized and followed by anyone who wants us dead." Shooter sighed again and nodded, this time he didn't open his mouth to speak. Kanaahn wanted to explain his reasoning further but knew it wouldn't do any good; he simply gave another heavy sigh and went back to his wild and random thoughts. The rest of the trip was spent in silence, no one—save for Cecil and Arkas—talked at all until the sun hang low in the sky and Romontya came into view.


	7. Chapter 5: Romontya

Chapter 5: Romontya

Kanaahn halted his wagon as they reached the outskirts of Romontya. As Arkas and Shooter pulled their wagons to a stop close behind him, Arial landed Adalinda and the other dragons. Once everyone was gathered around Kanaahn and his wagon, Kanaahn stood up from where he sat and started to talk, "Alright, we've reached Romontya." He said, "Now, while we're here we'll have to split into two groups: the dragons, and then us riders." There were a few mummers between the dragons and their riders, but no one openly opposed the split. Kanaahn paused for a second to allow people to take in what he had just said, but continued talking before anyone had the opportunity to argue with him, "I feel that this decision would be best for the time being," he continued, "We're not sure how this country feels towards dragons, and until we are we can't risk being seen with them. In fact, even once we're sure, I don't want us to be recognized for who we are until we reach Ethon, at least there we'll have the protection of the Daron and one of the Metallic Dragons incase the people are not friendly towards us." Kanaahn took another pause, still not opposition, he continued, "We'll only be staying here one night," he explained, "Long enough for us to gather some new supplies for our trip to Ethon, we'll leave in the morning. The dragons will stay out here on the outskirts of the town, does that sound okay?" Valence was the first to step forward, "That sounds like a fine idea," she said, "At least you've thought the situation through this time, and you've thought of all the possible outcome and paths too I trust?" Kanaahn nodded, "Yeah," he said, "I have, and that's why I think that this is best. Whether they're friendly or not, if we're discovered by the wrong people before we reach Ethon, then our chances of getting there alive are cut in half. At least this way we just appear like a bunch of normal travelers."

Kyeit smiled from the back of Kanaahn's wagon, 'Look's like he's starting to think more like a Warrior,' she thought, 'Now lets hope he thinks enough to put on armor the next time we're in a battle.' With that, everyone dismounted from their wagons and walked to their dragons, saying their goodbyes. Kanaahn walked up to Djall, the large dragon bent his neck down so that his head was level to Kanaahn, "Will you be okay all alone Kanaahn?" asked Djall. Kanaahn nodded, "Of course," said Kanaahn, "I'm a big boy." Djall raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Are you sure, Kanaahn?" he asked, "You seem to get injured a lot, unless you forget the time you were impaled, or when Drakhart slashed your back and stomach during the Battle of Xiar?" Kanaahn looked down at the groud, and then to his stomach, a thin, white scar had formed over his left hip from where Drakhart had slashed him. There was a similar scar across his back, only it was longer and crossed his back diagonally from his left him to his right shoulder. That was where Drakhart had slashed him the second time, right after he had slashed Kanaahn's stomach, causing him to lean forward, exposing his back. Kanaahn sighed, "I remember those times," he said, "But next time it won't happen again." Djall chuckled softly, "You plan on wearing armor next time?" he asked. Kanaahn laughed, "No," he answered, "Of course not are you kidding me? No, I plan on killing him before he gets a chance to attack me."

Djall rolled his eyes, "That is why you will live a shorter life then most humans," he said as he raised his head to its normal height. Kanaahn smiled and pet Djall on his front foreleg, "Yeah, yeah," he said, "Save it, I've heard it before." Djall laughed, "Kyeit?" he asked. Kanaahn nodded and looked over at her. Djall turned around and walked towards the cover of the woods, "Kanaahn," he said, smiling as he walked away, "You are truly a fool in love." Kanaahn smiled as he walked back towards his wagon, "If that's the case," he replied quietly, "Then I'd rather be a fool the rest of my life." Djall laughed quietly to himself before disappearing into the dark canopy of trees with the rest of the dragons. Kanaahn hopped back into the driver's seat of the wagon, Kyeit and Arial hopped into the back. Kanaahn flicked the reigns, as did Shooter and Arkas, and the three wagons sped through the wooden gates that surrounded the whole of Romontya and into the village square. As they rode through the town, Kanaahn noticed that the town seemed to blend in with the surrounding forest. The roads were made of dirt that was a creamy color of brown. The homes were made of wood and stucco, and the roofs were made of thatched hay. Grass covered the entire village, growing everywhere a house or road wasn't. Wild flowers grew in large patches all over the place. And in the center of the town was a large circular area, which was attached to every other road in the village and lead off in every imaginable direction. In the center of the circular area was a large stone fountain. The water shimmered like jewels in the evening light. The horses pulled the wagon through the circular center of the town and towards the western side of the village. They came to a stop outside of a large wooden and stucco building. It had a tall bell tower, and the roof was made of wooden shingles—one of the few buildings in town that had such-a large stable was attached to the back of the building, and a large wooden sign hung out over the door, it was labeled, 'Bright Dragon Inn.'

Arkas pointed to the sign as everyone walked from the wagons towards the door, "They seem friendly to dragons," he pointed out. Kanaahn shook his head, "Names mean nothing in this world," he said, "Titles can be falsified. It is the actions of the people that tell us of their feelings and personal prejudices." Arkas seemed taken aback by Kanaahn's sudden use of foresight, but nodded and returned to his silence. Kanaahn paused before opening the door, "Shooter, can you bring the wagons and horses around back?" he asked, "I don't want to leave them out here unwatched, you can catch up with us after." Shooter groaned in complaint, "Why do I have to work?" he asked, "Anybody else could do it. Besides, I've been running that wagon since we left Küla." Kanaahn sighed, "Shooter, just get it done, please?" he asked, It wont take long. Just take the horses around back to the stable boy and leave them with him, alright?" Shooter groaned again but was silent, he walked towards the wagons and pulled Arial's staff from one of the wagons, he then tapped each of the horses gently with the staff, causing them to start walking. Shooter followed beside the horses and wagons, herding them with Arial's staff. Kanaahn turned back towards the door, and pushed it open, walking into the Bright Dragon Inn. The inside of the inn was dimly lit, and smelled of smoke and beer. The interior was entirely wood, and the floor was covered in scattered straw. The ceiling was at least 20 feet high, and was supported by thick wooden poles. Each of the poles was adorned with a candlelit lamp and in the center of the room hung a circular, iron chandelier—which seemed to resemble a barrel ring that held four lit candles. On the opposite side of the bar from Kanaahn stood the bar, behind it was the bartender, and behind him was several shelves of glasses and various alcohols. To the left end of the bar were two large barrels of beer, and the right was the entrance to the kitchen. The bar was virtually empty, save for a few people here and there—all of the hunched over their cups as if whispering something too it. As Kanaahn and the others walked towards the bar, the innkeeper came down the stairs with a smile. "Why hello there," he said cheerily, "I'm the innkeeper here, Rort; Rort Osulith. Is there anythin' I can help ya with?"

The innkeeper was a tall, yet stocky, man, standing just a few inches above Kanaahn. He wore a sleeveless, leather vest, and baggy white shirt beneath it. The innkeeper also had fawn brown leggings and had heavy, leather boots. He was completely bald, and had a thick, bristly mustache. He had crooked, but a warm hearty smile. His eyes seemed to shine with a friendly, youthful essence. Kanaahn could tell this man would mean him no harm. "Well yes, actually," said Kanaahn, "We could use a room for the night, one that can hold six preferably. You see we're travels from—" Kanaahn paused for a second, he knew the man wouldn't harm him or his friends by his smile, but he couldn't trust how loose his lips were. Kanaahn couldn't tell him they were from Altimara; he needed another place to be from. "—We're from Danennova, actually, the capitol of Lyrianova to be specific." lied Kanaahn, "We're travelling to Ethon to trade our goods—which we're keeping in your stables out back—and we'd like a room to stay the night." The innkeeper gave a chuckle and patted Kanaahn on the shoulder, "A hard workin' young man," he said smiling, "Ya remind me o' myself to be honest. 'Cept I didn't have nearly as much hair as ya do." The innkeeper gave a loud booming laugh and then looked at Kanaahn, "Now, if it's a room yer lookin' fer, I got one that'll fit all of ya. Up tha stairs and to yer left, there's enough room for each of ya." Kanaahn nodded, "Thanks," he said with a smile. Rort gave a hearty nod and handed Kanaahn an iron key which he took from his belt, "Be sure to be down in an hour fer dinner," said Rort, "It's tha house special tonigh', you'll be eatin' like kings ya will."

Kanaahn smiled and nodded again, "Thanks again for your hospitality," he said politely, "We'll be sure to remember that. After months on the road, it'll be nice to have a full course and home cooked meal." Rort gave a chuckle, "Ain't that tha truth huh?" With that Rort disappeared behind the bar and into the doorway that led to the kitchen. As Rort disappeared, Kanaahn and the others walked up the stairs towards their room. They did as Rort instructed, stopping before the first door on their left. Opening the heavy lock with a click and returning the key to his pocket, Kanaahn turned the iron handle, swung open the door and walked in. As he opened the door he smiled, Rort didn't disappoint, the room was cozy and inviting. The room was long and sported a lit stone fireplace whose coals shimmered like the sunset outside. Four, soft armchairs were pulled up around the fireplace; another armchair was placed in the corner by the window—which also had a window bench in front of it. Two wooden beams supported the high ceiling and lamps hung from each pillar, bathing the room in their soft light. Ten beds were placed against the right wall; there were small slits of space between each bed; enough for a night table and for a person to stand. Kanaahn walked in and dropped himself down into an armchair in front of the fireplace. He sighed and sank low in the chair, relaxing after countless days on the road.

As everyone else filled the remaining chairs or beds, Shooter walked into the room. Kanaahn shot him a surprised look and Shooter gave him a lopsided smile, "The fat man downstairs told me where to find you," he said. Kanaahn sighed, "His name is Rort," he scolded Shooter. Shooter shrugged and plopped himself down on the nearest bed. "So when do we eat?" he asked. Kanaahn rubbed his temples and sighed again, "Do you have any sense of manners?" he asked, "But soon, if that's the answer you're looking for." Shooter nodded and lay back on the bed with a smile, "It is," he said, "And no I don't. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to catch up on some sleep." With that, Shooter closed his eyes and relaxed, trying to sleep. Kanaahn looked over at Arial, who sat in the armchair to his left. She was studying a long scroll of parchment, on which she had scribbled what seemed like hundreds of thousands of spells she intended to learn. "Have you been working on that since we left Küla?" he asked. She nodded without looking up, "I have," she said, she went silent for another second and looked up, putting the scroll away in her side pouch. "And I intend to learn much more than this." Kanaahn nodded, "Anything useful that I could-" Kanaahn was cut off before he could finish as Arial handed him two pages of double sided parchment. "Here," she said with a wink, "I wrote down all the fire magic that you're capable of at your current stage of practice. Because you don't use magic often, I've included mostly intermediate spells, some basic, some advanced, and only one or two forbidden ones." Kanaahn looked at the list with interest, "Forbidden ones?" he asked, "What do they do?" Arial nodded, "I got them out of Nayondel's Book of Magic while we were in the Xiarian Library—he was one of the first Warriors you know? —But don't think about using them, not yet at least." She said, "You don't have the experience or knowledge how to control them yet, they will kill you, and kill everyone around you if you're not careful. The first spell—actually, I'll let Master Austrica tell you about them, that is if he feels you're ready."

Kanaahn sighed and gave a joking smile, "Aww, you're not fun," he said jokingly, "And here I was hoping to fry a few villages on our travels." Arial rolled her eyes, "You do that and I'll gut you with a flick of my finger," she said laughing. Kanaahn raised an eyebrow, "You wouldn't really do that would you?" he asked. Arial shrugged and turned back to her studies, smiling slyly she replied, "I might," before becoming silent again. Kanaahn gave a small laugh and then looked over to his right, there sat Arkas. He hadn't talked to Arkas much since Xiar; actually to be honest, Arkas hadn't talked to anyone _period_ since Xiar. Kanaahn was about to initiate contact with his overly quiet friend, when there was a gently knock at the door, followed by Rort's deeper and friendly voice, "Dinner'll be ready in a few minutes, just lettin' ya know." Kanaahn smiled and replied, "Alright, we'll be down in a second. Thank you." Rort gave a chuckle, "It's me job, no need ta thank me." There were a series of dull thuds as Rort walked down the wooden stairs. Kanaahn placed his hands on the chair arms and pushed himself up. "Come on, let's go to dinner," said Kanaahn. He walked down the stairs—throwing one of the armchair pillows at Shooter to wake him up—with everyone following him in his wake. As they reached the main floor they scanned the room, it was just as empty as it was when they walked in, in fact it was emptier than before because the three men who were there earlier had left. Kanaahn figured it would be safer to talk this way, but still didn't want to give away too much. He walked over to two round tables, each with five chairs around them, and pushed them together. As the kids rearranged the chairs so that they all sat comfortably around the two tables, Rort walked out from the kitchen, with a tray containing four plates of steaming hot food in one hand, and four mugs of an unidentifiable drink in the other.

There were several clunks as the plates, silverware and mugs were placed on the table. "I'll be righ' back with the rest o' it in sec," he said smiling, his bristly mustache curving upwards with his mouth, "I only 'ave two 'ands ya know." Kanaahn smiled and tossed his hands, "It's no trouble Rort," he said, "We'll wait." Rort smiled and disappeared back behind the kitchen door for the rest of the foods. The kids barely had a time to start speaking before Rort returned with the rest of the food. "There we go young'ns," he said smiling, "We got our finest roast chicken, a fresh baked loaf o' bread fer each o' ya, and fer those o' ya who like a nice rounded meal, ya got yer leafy green cabbage stew with salted pork." Kanaahn took a bite of the bread and then ate some stew; he was surprised to find it tasted just like the food they used to serve during the harvest festivals in Küla. Kanaahn swallowed his food and went to ask Rort a question, but was cut off by Arkas—who everyone was surprised to see speak, though he had become more outgoing since Fyete hatched, at least more outgoing than he was before. "Have you ever been to Küla, in Altimara?" asked Arkas quietly. Rort, who had never heard Arkas speak and didn't believe he could, did a double take before realizing Arkas had said anything. Arkas repeated his question and Rort burst into a wide smile, "No," he said, "Sadly I never had the chance ta travel ta Altimara in me younger days, but me dear old mother—Aurum rest her soul—was native born and raised in Küla." Arkas gave a small, shy smile, "That would explain it," he said, "It reminds me of when we were there for the harvest festival, the food is similar, and that's why I asked." Rort smiled, "Aye," he said, "I get me recipes from me mum, she has many traditional Külan recipes, ya may recognize a few of 'em."

Kanaahn nodded and raised a spoonful of stew, "We do," he said, "It's good. Just one question, what's in the mugs?" Rort smiled and chuckled heartily, "It's the special house cider," he said, "Ya kids look a lil' too young ta drink beer or mead, so I fixed this up for ya." Kanaahn nodded and sipped the cider, it too tasted like festival drinks in Küla. As Rort began to walk away, Kanaahn stopped him, "I have just one more question," he said. Rort smiled softly, "Ask away, I'll do me best ta answer ya." Kanaahn wiped his mouth and looked around, "Why is this place so empty?" he asked, "I've heard rumors of this place while travelling through Ottogard, I was told this was the best inn and tavern in Estion, even better than the ones in Ethon." Rort gave a hearty laugh, "We'll, I like that I've earned that kind o' reputation around tha world." He said, his face slowly faded into a frown—however—and this creases appeared in his bald forehead. Rort gave a big sigh and then looked gravely at Kanaahn, "An' the reason that there's no one 'ere in me inn, is 'cause there's been reports o' bandits in the area," he said, "Travellers and adventurers stay well aways of this part of Estion 'cause of them, and traders only take direct routes to the capitol now. It's cut almost half o' me clientele, and the other half—the people of Romontya—are too afraid ta leave their homes at night, 'cause their afraid of gettin' attacked by tha bandits. It's sad, but it's the truth, hopefully though tha bandits'll move on soon, and business will be back ta normal eh?" Rort gave a forced chuckled before turning around and walking back to the kitchen. Kanaahn wanted to ask more about the bandits, but figured it was best not to bug Rort about his troubles.

Kanaahn turned back to his friends and, making sure that both the bartender and Rort weren't listening, leaned in to the table and whispered, "At least we know they're friendly towards dragons," he said, "Did he you hear Rort when he spoke about his mother? He said 'Aurum rest her soul' you don't say stuff like that unless you believe that dragons exist and are friendly towards them." Cecil nodded, "Kanaahn's right," he said, "Only the Daron and the people who support the protection of dragons use that term." Kyeit nodded as well and whispered, "Rort said he did a lot of travelling in his younger years, " she pointed out, "It's possible he could've met a few dragons in hiding." Kanaahn nodded and shrugged, "It's possible," he said sipping his cider. Shooter smiled and barked a laugh, "Hey, anything is possible now a days." Everyone smiled and burst out laughing, "All too true, Shooter." Agreed Arial. Kanaahn raised his mug of cider and smiled, "To the possibilities, and to the future," he said. Everyone did the same and their mugs met with a clunk in the middle, and they shouted "Here, here!" The rest of dinner was filled with laughs, reminiscent stories, joking around and goofing off. Kanaahn had never remembered a time they had been so happy, it was like one of the festivals back home, only smaller, but still just as loud. The night was a blur to Kanaahn, everyone ordered seconds and thirds, and Shooter even had fourths and fifths. Rort was always running over refilling their mugs with cider, and eventually he brought over two barrels and a mug of mead for himself and joined the festivities—mostly due to Kanaahn's constant invitations. Kanaahn figured Rort could use the good times to lighten his burdens. The night was almost half over when the kids finally retired to their room to sleep. And once they crawled under their sheets, they had no trouble doing so. The last thing Kanaahn remembered was kissing Kyeit goodnight, telling her he loved her, then crawling under his covers, giving a happy sigh and a smile and falling into an undisturbed sleep.

Arkas woke up in a cold sweat. He couldn't remember what had woke him, but he felt rested and undisturbed. Maybe he didn't need anymore sleep? Maybe he was rested for the night? He was about to lie back down to go back to his dreams when he saw Cecil sitting by the window on the bench. Arkas couldn't help but stare at her, she was so beautiful, with her long blonde hair hanging down her back, shining bright in the moonlight; almost glowing. Her pale skin seemed to give a silver glow, something that made his breath go short. Her brown eyes glistened in the moonlight. She sat there in a long, flowing nightgown—her armor sat at the edge of her bed—alone, staring out the window; thinking. Arkas couldn't go back to sleep now, he was too distracted by Cecil to sleep. He quietly stepped out of bed and walked over to the window. His heart began to beat fast as he reached her, his palms got sweaty and he could feel butterflies in his stomach. "Hey," he whispered as he walked up behind her. Arkas realized, that even though he knew Cecil for only a few weeks, and even though he was nervous around her, he was most comfortable around her. More comfortable than he was around his normal friends, Cecil was the only one who Arkas could talk to normally without simply smiling and nodding in response for everything. Cecil turned around and smiled at him, "Hey," she whispered back, "What are you doing up?" Arkas paused for a second, he stared deep into her eyes; they seemed to draw him in like magnets. Arkas quickly shook himself out of it, "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep," he said, "I saw you sitting here alone, and I figured at least I'd have someone to talk to." Cecil smiled, "Oh," she said, "Well that makes sense. Well, I don't mind talking to you. You seem…calm. Here, come, sit down next to me, there's plenty of room." Arkas did a back flip in his head and sat down next to Cecil on the bench as she scooted over and made room for him. "So, what'd you dream about?" asked Cecil. Arkas looked over at her, realizing how even more beautiful she looked in the moonlight, "What do you mean?" he asked, turning his head away out of nervousness.

Cecil smiled, "Did a nightmare wake you?" she asked. Arkas looked down at his feet, "No, actually I'm not sure what did," he said, "I just can't get back to sleep." Cecil nodded, "Ah…" she said quietly, she smiled softly and looked over at Arkas, "You remind me of someone I used to know." Arkas looked back at her, forgetting his nerves for a second, "What do you mean?" he asked. Cecil laughed, "I mean, silly, that you remind me of someone that I knew a long time ago." Arkas smiled and blushed, turning his face so she wouldn't notice, "Oh…" he said, "Who would this person be?" Cecil smiled and looked at the fireplace, the coals were still lit, and glowed dimly, she stared deep into them and her smile grew. "Just a friend," she said smiling, "He was a good friend. You're a lot like him." Arkas blushed again and kept his face hidden, "Oh," he said, "Cool." Cecil broke eye contact with the fire and looked over at Kyeit sleeping in her bed—which was between Kanaahn's and Cecil's—and nodded, "Yeah…" Arkas looked over at Cecil again, and hesitated before saying what he was about to, "You know, we've spoken a lot in the past could weeks," he started, "But not once have you ever told me about yourself." Cecil looked over at him, the first time he had ever seen her look serious, "Well it never really came up..." she said defensively. Arkas looked back down his feet, "Oh…" he replied. Cecil sighed and put her hand on his shoulder as she turned towards him, "I'm sorry, Arkas," she said, "I just find my past…boring, that's why I don't like talking about it." Arkas smiled softly, "I'd still like to hear it," he said, "If that's okay?" Cecil sighed and smiled, "You're a hell of a guy Arkas," she said, "I'll give you that…alright, I'll tell you. But you speak not a word of this to anyone." Arkas nodded, "I promise." He said.

Cecil tilted her head to the side and thought for a second, then she looked at Arkas and said, "Well, there's not much to tell," she said, "I grew up with my parents in the capitol city of Malatrion, in the country of Asardaea—it's just to the north west of Estion. I was and still am an only child, and both my parents were members of the Daron. My father was the General of the Daron and their leader working under Aurum, and my mother was the Dragon Master of Bronze before me." Arkas raised an eyebrow, "Are they why you decided to join the Daron yourself?" he asked. "No I…" Cecil paused mid response and thought it over, "Well, maybe, in a way. I was already in training since birth to replace my mother, but I guess the reason I didn't say no at any point was because, well, I just grew up with it so much that it became part of me…and after they died and Aurum asked me to take my mothers place…I guess, I felt like I just couldn't say yes fast enough…it was almost as if…" Cecil trailed off mid sentence, Arkas looked over at Cecil, he could see tears forming over her eyes. She stood up and pretended to wipe the hair from her face—of course Arkas knew she was wiping her tears. "I'm tired…I'm going to head back to bed…" she said quietly. Arkas stood up and sighed, "Yeah…I'll go too." He said. As he walked back towards his bed Cecil stopped, Arkas stopped too, taken aback. The next few moments seemed like a dream to Arkas, as Cecil turned around and hugged him. "Thank you Arkas…" she said quietly. Arkas, though stunned, hugged her back, "You're welcome." He whispered. After another few seconds Cecil broke free of the hug and walked back to her bed. As she slipped under the covers she rolled over so that her back faced Arkas. Arkas sighed and wriggled deeper under his blanket, wrapped it tightly around him up to his neck. He sighed and laid his head his pillow. He spent the next few minutes reviewing what just happened between him and Cecil. And smiling, yet at the same time frowning, drifted slowly off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 6: A Tail in the Shadows

Chapter 6: A Tail in the Shadows

Kanaahn's eyes shot open; he looked around and scanned the room. It was almost three hours till dawn and a loud crashing boom woke him, followed by hundreds of terrified screams. Then another boom, and another, and another, then more screams. Then horses running by, scared for their life, then the flapping of massive wings, and then a terrifying, blood chilling roar. A roar Kanaahn had hoped he would never hear again, the roar of a black dragon. Kanaahn sat up in his bed, he was relieved to find that everyone else had woken up as well. "What's going on?" asked Arial as another boom sounded outside, shaking the room and causing dust to fall down from the crossbeams in the ceiling. Kanaahn ran to the window, meanwhile everyone ran around and gathered their stuff, ready to leave if need be. Kyeit and Cecil grabbed their armor and slipped it on, ready for a fight, Cecil throwing hers over her nightgown and Kyeit—who left her leather undermail on while she slept—was ready much faster, sliding her armor on comfortably over her leather undermail. As Kanaahn walked up to the window, he noticed that it gave off an orange glow, fearing the worst, Kanaahn felt his stomach lurch. Kanaahn's jaw instantly dropped as he looked outside, "My god…" he said softly, turning back to face the others, "The town…it's on fire!" Kyeit and Arkas rushed to the window, and were just as shocked to find out that what Kanaahn has said was true. Romontya was up in flames, and its citizens were running through the streets in complete panic. "What the hell is going on here?" asked Arial as she finished running her hands through her hair and through her satchel over her shoulder.

Kanaahn strapped on his sword and ran to the door, "I don't know," he said as he pulled the door open, "But I plan to find out." The group dashed out the door with their weapons drawn, as they reached the main floor of the inn, they saw Rort—still fully clothed—in a panic, barricading the door. Kanaahn put away his sword and waved his hands, trying to get Rort's attention, "We need to get outside!" he shouted over the commotion of screams and explosions outside. Rort shook his head, "Well ya wont be getting' out this door I'm afraid," he said with a frown, creases appearing on his forehead, "It's already been blocked. Use tha backdoor, if ya need ta get outside." Kanaahn gave a silent nodded and ran towards the kitchen. He burst through the kitchen door and forced open the back door. Kanaahn stopped in a dark alleyway behind the inn. The stables were directly ahead of him and to the left was the path back to the main road. It was dark and quiet—though the faint screams of the villagers could be heard just beyond the stables—behind the inn, and the only light was from a single candle that hung above the main door of the stable. Kanaahn pointed over to the stable door, "Arial, you are Arkas go hitch the horses up to the wagons and bring them out here." He said, "Kyeit, Cecil, come with me, we're going to go get the dragons, and deal with whatever it is attacking the village." Kyeit and Cecil nodded and followed Kanaahn out into the streets of Romontya. The first thing they felt when they hit the main road was an instant rush of heat that emanated off the thousands of orange flames that enveloped the city. All of the buildings in site seemed to be on fire, creating a large wall of orange that stretched high up into the sky like thousands of wailing spectors. The sky was invisble, blotted out by a thick curtain of smoke that flowed around the village, choking everyone who was caught in it.

Kyeit coughed and covered her mouth; Kanaahn and Cecil quickly did the same. As the three of them reached the center of town—passing by a now destroyed fountain- there was a loud explosion that sounded from behind them, causing the trio to freeze in their tracks. The explosion was followed by several loud thumping sounds, a sound which Kanaahn recognized as the flapping of large wings. Kanaahn and the girls turned around, coming almost face to face with a large black dragon, floating about fifty feet from the ground. Kanaahn gritted his teeth as the dragon gave a loud menacing roar, causing Kyeit and Cecil to cover their ears from the volume of it. The dragon landed with a crash, it's rider—who Kanaahn could finally see—was cloaked in a heavy black hood and robe. It was impossible to see his face, and the only parts of his body that were visible—his hands and feet—seemed to be decorated in heavy armor. Kanaahn gulped, but didn't let his fear show, he raised his sword as the rider dismounted and walked towards the three of them. Each of his steps seemed more like a glide, and he was more like a ghost than a human. There was a rasping hiss that seemed to come from the rider, as it slowly got closer to Kanaahn. The rider drew his sword, a long, two-handed sword, with a broad blade and a flat, T-shaped cross guard. The silver blade shone orange in the light of the flames, Kanaahn raised his sword higher, readying for a fight, "Kyeit, Cecil, go get the dragons, I'll hold this guy off." He whispered to them. Kyeit opened her mouth to protest the stupidity in Kanaahn's actions, but was cut off as Kanaahn continued, "Go!" he hissed, "Get the dragons, there's no sense arguing."

Kyeit frowned as Cecil took her arm and started to lead her away towards the gate. She didn't want Kanaahn to stay behind and get hurt, and she feared for the worst. But Kyeit knew that Kanaahn was stubborn and reckless, and no matter how much she tried, once his mind was made up, changing it was hard. Kyeit sighed and gave up her worry, forcing it down and replacing it with haste and courage. Kyeit and Cecil broke into a sprint as they reached the woods, scouring the nearby trees for signs of the dragons. Meanwhile, Kanaahn and the rider had come face to face. They were now standing square to each other, their swords raising and lowering as they played mental games with each other. They circled around each other, when suddenly the enemy rider leaped towards Kanaahn with a whooshing hiss. Kanaahn was caught off guard at first, but managed to raise his sword to block the attack just in time. A loud metallic clang filled Kanaahn's ears as their swords met between them. Kanaahn could feel his opponent push against his sword, trying to hit him with the edge of his blade. Kanaahn tried to push back, but found his opponents strength too much for him to handle. Doing the next best thing, Kanaahn slid from beneath his opponent's blade and swung his sword, aiming for the enemy riders flank. The ride gave another hiss as he blocked Kanaahn's attack with a lightning fast flick of his wrist. Kanaahn did a spin, attempting to attack the rider's other flank, that's where Kanaahn went wrong. As Kanaahn did a spin, the rider kicked him in the back, sending Kanaahn flying across the stone cobble road.

Kanaahn bounced a few times before finally coming to a halt 20 feet from where the rider stood. Kanaahn looked up at his foe, his vision was blurred from the hit and his spine throbbed with pain. Lifting his head quickly became too much of a strain on Kanaahn's back, and he dropped his head back against the road. Kanaahn closed his eyes and when he reopened them, his opponent was standing over him, his heavy armor boot rested on the center of Kanaahn's chest, making it hard for Kanaahn to breath. The rider bent low, his face close to Kanaahn's. Kanaahn could smell foul breath—for a second Kanaahn compared it to how a dragons breath smelt—and he could see a faint yellow glow, and almost panicked when he realized that they were a pair of glowing yellow eyes, with two black slits for pupils. Kanaahn struggled to escape his monstrous foe or at least grab his sword that was ever so slightly out of his reach, but simply flailed around helpless beneath the rider's foot. The rider placed the tip of his sword at Kanaahn's throat, right at his Adam's apple, ready to finish Kanaahn off. Kanaahn closed his eyes, bracing himself for the end, but the end never came. Instead there was a snort, and a wave of hot breath hit Kanaahn's face, then a hiss. "Yessssss," said the rider, his voice sinister and snake like, like a continuous, evil hiss, "Yesssss, I knew I sssssssaw your face sssssssomewhere before. You look jusssssst like _him_, but your eyessssss, they belong to _her_. They share the sssssssame fear, the ssssssssame pain and regret. I wassssss unsure at firssssst, I noticed you carried the ssssssssame sssssensssse of falssssse importance, wearing your courage on your sssssssleeve like it makesssss you sssssssomone, but I ssssssstill had to be sure. But then I sssssssaw your eyessssss…and jussssssst like when I killed _her_ I sssssssee you feer, I ssssssssee you anger, I ssssssssee your true feelingssssssss. Had I known that you exisssssssted that day many years ago, I would've ssssssslaughtered you then and there like the othersssssssss." The rider looked up towards the eastern gate, he looked at it long and hard, a low growling sound emanated from his chest, "She," he said grumbled angrily, "She belonged to them didn't she? She lookssssss much like her dam, and she hasssssssss her sssssssympathy and compassssssssion. She hasssssss her sssssssire'sssss courage though, and her sssssssire's sword too…that issssss how I recognized her."

The rider's headshot back down to Kanaahn with a quick, bird like jolt. He pulled his sword back slightly and hissed, "All I need issssss to finish you off, and then I can go after her." He said. Kanaahn shut his eyes tight; he knew now that the end would come, there would be no pause, no saving grace this time. The first thing that came to mind was, "I'm sorry, Kyeit. I got hurt, even though I promised I wouldn't. And I'm sorry Arial, Arkas, Shooter…everyone in the world, I couldn't make it back, I couldn't make it long enough to save the world from Tenebrae, and if we fail, it's my fault." Kanaahn's eyes shot open as a loud crash sounded on either side of his head. He looked up to see a mass of green scales block his view, he turned his head left and right and saw two massive green legs. Sighing with relief, Kanaahn realized that Djall had come to his rescue; Kyeit and Cecil had gotten the dragons. As Kanaahn sat up and ran towards Djall's side, Djall gave a mighty roar that shook the city of Romontya. The rider—who had now retreated back to his dragon and was now back in the dragon's saddle and in the air—had been joined by a second rider on an identical dragon. The second rider was dressed similarly to the first, and if Kanaahn hadn't known better, he would've thought he was seeing double. With a loud hiss from both riders, and two bellowing, unison roars from the dragons, the two riders flew off towards the north, and disappeared into the night. The sound of flapping wings fading with each minute, until finally it was gone, and the city was silent. The only sounds audible were the sounds of the fire that continued to rage through the city and the crack and pop of wood as it burned. Kanaahn sighed as thunder began to rumble and rain began to fall on the city, dousing the flames as it fell. Kanaahn—who was now comfortably resting on Djall's saddle—turned Djall around to face Kyeit, who was on Valence, and Cecil, who was on Kinokaze. The other dragons stood behind them—except for Risasi—as well as Arkas, and Arial and the three wagons, one of which had no rider, the same one Kanaahn knew he would have to ride.

Kanaahn raised his hand with a quick wave to Kyeit, "Thanks," he shouted over the hissing sounds of many dousing fires and rain. Kyeit smiled, "Don't mention it." She shouted back. Kanaahn looked down at Arial, she looked tired, but functional. "Was this rain your doing?" he asked. Arial smiled through her exhaustion and nodded, "Yeah," she said, "It was my little gift to the village." Kanaahn smiled and rolled his eyes, 'Same old Arial,' he thought, 'She never changes. Even when she's dead tired.' Another question suddenly entered Kanaahn's mind, "How did you guys get over there?" he asked Arial. Arial went to answer but ended up yawning, Arkas answered instead, "The road was blocked the other way, so we had to take the north exit out and around to here, that's why it took forever." He said, "Sorry." Kanaahn smiled and waved his hand, "It's alright," he answered, "You're safe, and that's all that matter right now." Another question entered Kanaahn's mind, "Where's Shooter and Risasi?" he asked. Adalinda answered, "Shooter came to our clearing late tonight," she said, "He and Risasi went out for a flight, are we going to be waiting for them?" Kanaahn thought for a moment, "We can't," he said, "If those two…_things_, come back then it'd be a lot better for us if we're not here." Valence nodded, "I agree," she said, "But shouldn't we send someone to let him know?" Kanaahn nodded, "Yeah, we should," he said, "Valence, would you mind going?" he asked. Valence nodded as Kyeit dismounted and climbed into the back of Kanaahn's wagon, "I will fly as swift as the wind under my wings," she said politely before taking off. As she shot into the sky she spun like a corkscrew, and then leveled out, flying towards the south.

Kanaahn dismounted from Djall and pet him gently on the front foreleg, "Thanks for saving my life Djall," he said. Djall smiled and looked down at Kanaahn, "Do not mention it Kanaahn," he said, "We are friends and partners, besides, if I don't protect you, who else will?" Kanaahn rolled his eyes and walked towards his wagon. As he settled in the drivers seat he looked over at Arial. Her hands were put together and her face seemed strained. She glanced over at Kanaahn, "I'm giving my final gift to this town," she said, "Catch my body when I collapse." Kanaahn looked puzzled for a second, but all was answered as a burst of blue light shot from Arial's hands and into the air. It separated into several bursts of light that rained down on the town with the rain that fell from the clouds. As the blue lights hit the ground, it repaired any damaged building or part of the village that it touched. Before Kanaahn could continue watching the phenomenon, he dashed over towards Arial who he saw—out of the corner of his eye—begin to fall from where she sat. He caught Arial before she hit the ground, as he picked her up in his arms he sighed. "You're always willing to put the well being of the people before yourself," he said, "I can definitely see why we were chosen to be Warriors. We all embody a different attribute of a hero." As Kanaahn placed Arial gently in the back of his wagon, and threw a blanket over her, he looked at Kyeit and kissed her on the cheek. "Would you mind taking over Arial's wagon?" he asked. Kyeit smiled and placed her hand lightly on his cheek, "No problem," she said, hugging him before she left. "I'm glad you're okay," she whispered before walking out of earshot. As Kyeit settled in the driver's seat of Arial's wagon and Cecil climbed into the back, Valence landed in front of the group, a somber look on her face. "I can't find them," she said, "I looked everywhere but I couldn't find them."

Kanaahn bit his lip, he couldn't just leave Shooter, but he couldn't risk waiting around for him. "I hate to do this to him," said Kanaahn, "But Shooter is smart, despite his antics, and he's brave—that much I'm also sure of. Once he returns and Rort tells him what happens, he'll know to come looking for us. He knows we're heading to Estion, and he can always borrow a map from Rort, I trust he'll catch up with us." Cecil poked her head from the back of Kyeit's wagon and looked at Kanaahn, "Are you sure we should just leave him like this?" she asked. Kanaahn shook his head, "No," he said, "No I'm not sure. In fact I know it's wrong, but we have on other choice. I know he'll be mad, but I'll explain to him my reasoning when he catches up." With out another word, Kanaahn flicked the reigns and rode towards the western gate of Romontya, and beyond the gate would be miles of forest, and beyond the miles of forest, was Estion. Kanaahn's mind was set for Estion, but that didn't stop it from going back to Shooter every so often. In fact, Shooter was all Kanaahn could think about until they made camp for the rest of the night. Kanaahn couldn't help but wonder if what he had done would have any major effects on his and Shooter's relationship.

Shooter smiled and laughed as he and Risasi glided through the air. Risasi had just pulled out of a double loop, and Shooter's hands were out to both sides as the wind blew against him, his blonde hair blowing in the wind. "You seem to love it when I do those stunts," said Risasi. Shooter laughed and whooped, "Are you kidding?" he said with excitement, "This is amazing, how do you not enjoy this?" Risasi smiled, "I must fly often, for me it is just as normal as walking or breathing," answered Risasi. Shooter shrugged, "Well, it's still a unique trait to me," he said, "And it will be until I grow wings." Risasi gave a low chuckle, "You are a strange human Shooter," he said, "A very strange human indeed." Shooter laughed and leaned back in his saddle in a relaxing position, "Ah, but I am your human either way," he retorted. Risasi gave a low, content growl, "Ah, that you are," he said smiling, snorting small puffs of smoke from his nostrils, "That you are…" The next few moments were silent ones, until Shooter noticed two black dots on the horizon, and they were moving towards Shooter and Risasi, fast. Shooter sat up in his saddle, he put his hand on inside his coat and pulled out his dagger, the one that Shang had given him; a pearl white blade of dragon fang, with a red ruby hilt. "Risasi." He said seriously. Risasi nodded, his eyes narrowing, "I know," he said, "They're moving fast, they'll be on us in a few minutes. Should I avoid them?" Shooter thought for a second, holding his dagger by the blade and tapping the hilt against his chin.

"Meet them head on," he said firmly, "If it's Kanaahn and the others, then we have nothing to worry about. And if they're enemies, we'll take them out now before they become more work for us later." Risasi rolled his eyes and smiled, "Even in times of great decisions you always find a way to get out of work." Shooter smiled and leaned forward in his seat, raising his dagger defensively, "Damn right," he said with a lopsided smile. Risasi shot his wings out straight, making them perfectly parallel to the ground. As he glided towards their targets with speed, Shooter saw who his attackers were, and his stomach dropped. "Shooter," said Risasi with a growl, "Those are black dragons, and they are riders." Shooter nodded, "I know," he said, "But they already see is, it's too late to turn around." Risasi gave a low growl, "I don't like their essence," he said, "They're dark and foul, there is much evil and darkness about them. It seeps from their every pour like a poison." Shooter nodded, "I don't see to the same extent you do Risasi, but I get chills up my spine just looking at them." He said, "I know exactly what you're talking about." Risasi let out a fierce roar as the two black dragons came about 30 feet from him and Shooter. The three dragons flapped their wings, flying in place, facing each other. Looks of rage on all their faces, their teeth bared, ready to tear flesh and break bone. Their battle ready roars locked and loaded in their throats. Their breath weapons ready to use. Shooter raised his dagger, he had never doubted his skill with a blade or the make of the blade, and he wouldn't even now, when he was about to face two obviously very powerful enemies, both with swords of their own. Shooter clutched the reigns of Risasi's saddle tightly and raised his dagger, "Charge!" he shouted.

With that, Risasi flew like a lightning bolt towards the two enemy dragons. As he dashed between them, there were two loud clangs as Shooter blocked—just barely—both riders' swords. Risasi swirled around and refaced the two black dragons as he stopped behind them. The black dragons turned to face Risasi as well, this time it was them who charged. Risasi turned so that he was perpendicular to the ground, but was accidently caught by the tip of one of the rider's swords as they flew past. Shooter managed to block the sword of the other rider, but not before gaining a small gash on his cheek where the tip of his hooded opponents swords just grazed his cheek. Risasi, in a blinded rage, turned towards the black dragons and released a billowing explosion of fire. For a second it seemed to have absorbed the two dragons and their riders, but as the fire cleared, it was revealed that it hadn't. In fact it looked as if the fire hadn't even hit them, and Shooter soon realized why, "They absorbed it…" he said as he noticed the right hands of both riders were raised, and a small, glowing, white ball of flame no bigger than a chickadee rested in front of their palms. With a hiss, they released the fire back at Risasi, with twice the heat and ferocity as the original fire.

Risasi dived downwards attempting a dodge, but the flames still hit the tip of his tail, causing the red dragon to roar in anger and agony again. Shooter gritted his teeth as he looked up at the two dragons and their dark masters, "This is going to be our final charge Risasi," said Shooter. Risasi growled, "I know," he said, "But we can't give up." Shooter nodded, "_I_ know," he replied, "We need to give it all or nothing. We're either going to walk away winners after this, or face our ends." Risasi nodded, "Let's do it." Shooter nodded as well, "Let's." Shooter raised his dagger and shouted, a brave, fighting yell. Shooter and Risasi dashed at their attackers, there were several clangs and shouts as Shooter and the riders exchanged and blocked each other's blows. Risasi managed to sink his teeth into one of the dragon's forelegs, his teeth ripping through their flesh and breaking the bone, black blood pouring from the wound into Risasi's mouth, staining his teeth metallic black. The dragon that Risasi bit reared and roared in pain as Risasi refused to release his clamped jaw from its leg. The struggling and fighting between the dragons and their riders continued for several minutes, until there was a strained, agonized roar of pain from Risasi. One of the black riders pierced his wing with his sword, causing the dragon to release his prey's foot from his mouth, and fall back towards the ground. Shooter didn't scream as he and Risasi fell back towards the ground, the rush of wind blew all thoughts from his mind, and no doubt did the same for Risasi, as the dragon was unable to move his wings and regain flight. The last thing Shooter remembered was a loud thudding crash, and everything went black.


	9. Chapter 7: Kanaahn's Dilemma

Chapter 7: Kanaahn's Dilemma

Kanaahn opened his eyes; he was standing in the middle of a room. One he had never seen before, but still had an air of familiarity to it. He looked around; he saw a chest of drawers, a rocking chair, a mirror and a bassinette with a baby in it. Kanaahn smiled softly as he heard the baby, gently cooing, playing with it's fingers, twinning them around each other like little threads to be woven together, and then shoving them in his mouth as if trying to eat them. The baby laughed and kicked its feet as he saw Kanaahn. Kanaahn laughed and smiled and walked over to the side of the bassinette, he looked down at the baby and smiled wider. The baby was bald and tanned; he had big brown eyes and soft pink gums that showed with his smile. Kanaahn gave a small laugh and went to reach down to hold the baby's hand, but was stopped by a loud, but distant, explosion. Kanaahn paused and looked around, a moment after there was an aftershock and the room rocked. Kanaahn went to put his hand to his sword, but found that it wasn't at his side, as it usually was in his dreams. Kanaahn suddenly felt naked and alone without his sword, in real life and in his dreams, his sword was the one thing that kept a firm defense between him and his enemies. Kanaahn felt a small sense of panic in the pit of his stomach. Relaxing enough to think, Kanaahn walked to the window, as he looked outside he saw a similar scene as to what he saw in Romontya. The buildings were on fire; people, horses and animals ran through the streets in panic, trying to escape the flames. The buildings were in various states of destruction, and loud roars erupted from the distance, shaking the house from top to bottom. Kanahan gulped, he recognized the same path of destruction from Romontya, and the first things that came to mind were the two, demonic dragon riders that Kanaahn fought last time.

Fear gripped Kanaahn, and he suddenly felt ice cold. He knew he was no match for even one of the riders _with_ his sword, but to have to fight both without a weapon of any kind, the idea scared him, and he knew he would loose. Kanaahn stepped back from the window as a loud crash and an explosion sounded from another room in the house. Kanaahn wanted to go explore what it was, but the fear of the two dark riders grasped his ankles and held him in place. He couldn't move, he was paralyzed by fear, a fear of death. It took Kanaahn several minutes before he could muster up the courage to move, after having reminded his self that this was only a dream, and that any death he experienced was fake. Kanaahn tiptoed into the next room, gently peaking out around the corner, making sure that it was safe. What Kanaahn saw, shocked him, the front of the house had been blown open, and the room he was standing in—which Kanaahn deduced were the remnants of a once grand living room. Kanaahn saw the scene, not believing what he saw. A man and woman stood in the wreckage of the home, their swords were drawn and they were in defensive stances. In front of them the two black dragon riders that Kanaahn had encountered in Romontya stood, their swords drawn as well, ready to attack, ready to kill. In the streets behind them stood their two black dragons, relatively smaller than when Kanaahn had last seen them. A red dragon with a severed head, and a blue dragon whom had been disemboweled lay dead at their feet, blood spilled from the bodies of the dead dragons and from the mouths of the black dragons, bathing the corpses and the street in their black blood.

Kanaahn almost felt the urge to vomit, even though he normally had a very strong stomach. But the sight of two dead dragons, slain mercilessly by the black riders and their beasts disgusted Kanaahn, especially by how brutally violent they were about it. Kanaahn crouched further down behind a massive chunk of what used to be a roof. All time seemed to pause as Kanaahn studied the defenders. The man was tall, probably as tall as Kanaahn, or at least a little taller; he had long black hair exactly like Kanaahn's. In fact, the man looked almost exactly like Kanaahn, with the exception of his eyes, they were a piercing sky blue, and looked as deep as an ocean. The man wore a long, flowing, blue robe that was open at his chest, revealing a portion of his upper body from his navel to his neck. The collar of the robe was popped upwards and open. He wore a reddish-orange sash around his waist which held the robe together, and on his right shoulder was a single blue pauldron, which was shaped like a dragon's head, two rubies eyes caught the light as the man raised and lowered his sword. Beneath the blue robes, Kanaahn could see the man wore baggy blue pants. Blue, armor greaves and metal, armor boots were strapped around his calves and feet. The man also wore a thin black ring around his left middle finger, and a metal necklace with an ornate and unrecognizable design around his neck, Kanaahn saw a red jewel in the center of the necklace. As Kanaahn's eyes moved the sword, he felt a sudden twinge of realization, the man—who Kanaahn felt like he had seen somewhere before—had his sword, and the man was using it, fighting the dark riders with it.

Kanaahn didn't understand how this was possible; his sword was a birthday gift from Arial's parents when he turned 13. The local blacksmith forged it, there was no way that this man could've had this sword before Kanaahn…unless this was the future? Was this man that looked so much like Kanaahn, actually be Kanaahn? Was the woman he was fighting with Kyeit? Had they gotten married and had a child in the future? No, that couldn't be it, this man and Kanaahn had different eyes, and the colors of the dragons were wrong. Kyeit rode Valence, a silver dragon, and Kanaahn rode Djall, a green dragon. The two dragons in the street were red and blue. Kanaahn looked over at the woman, that couldn't be Kyeit, she didn't look like her at all. The woman wore a long, flowing, white dress that cut off at the elbows, revealing two long black sleeves of another black dress beneath. The slits ran up from her ankles to the pelvis, revealing the rest of the black dress—which was tighter fitting than the white one that the woman wore over it. The woman's skin was as pale as the moon, and seemed perfect. Her eyes were almond shaped and angled downwards. She had a thin face and high cheekbones, her lips were big and red, and her hair was long, black and wavy and went down to her knees. She had her hair swept back behind her. The woman seemed to be around Kanaahn's height as well. Overall she was an exceptionally beautiful woman, and didn't seem at all afraid of the black riders. In fact, she seemed just as determined to fight and defeat her enemies as Kanaahn did sometimes. She too felt familiar, and in fact…Kanaahn felt as if he shared a special bond with her.

Kanaahn shook these stray thoughts out of his heads and watched as the man and woman battled the two riders. There were several clangs as their swords clashed. The two duos went back and forth for several minutes, and it seemed that no one would best the other. Their skills were matched, and Kanaahn couldn't help but wonder how strong the man and woman were, because they were lasting a lot longer than Kanaahn had against _both_ riders. As the fight continued, Kanaahn could see the man and woman's strength was starting to fade, the two enemy riders however seemed to be just as strong and energized as when the fight began. Kanaahn continued to watch, biting his lip with anticipation, and almost cried out in surprise when one of the dark riders slashed the man across the chest, causing him to fall to the ground, bleeding to death. The woman cried in rage as the man fell—Kanaahn had deduced that they were loved—and with tears in her eyes she charged at her two, cloaked enemies. Her attempt was foiled though, and she was sent flying backwards towards her husband, coming to a halt beside his body. As she looked up, looking between strands of her hair that was now a complete mess, she glared daggers filled with contempt at her two enemies. The dark riders hissed and laughed, one of them brought his sword to her throat. Kanaahn looked away, he couldn't stand to watch this, for he felt such an attachment to this woman that he couldn't bear to watch her die this way. There was a small choking noise and a sickening thwack, and everything went silent. Kanaahn looked back to see the woman's throat slit, and her lovers hand firmly grasped in her own.

Kanaahn couldn't hold it anymore, he shouted, "No!" loud, long and hard. He grabbed a nearby piece of wood; it was wide and heavy, but still light enough for him to lift. As he charged at the two black riders the world around him started to fade. The two riders mounted their dragons, not even seeming to notice Kanaahn, as if he didn't exist. Kanaahn's eyes widened as he ran past of the corpeses of the man and woman, realizing who they were. Kanaahn continued to run, breaking into a sprint after discovering the man and woman's identity. Even as the sky started to fade, and the rubble in the street and in the house began to melt away. Even as everything went black, Kanaahn still ran with all his might. Until finally the ground disappeared, and Kanaahn fell into the darkness; into the pitch-black nothingness below him. He fell, and as he did, tears streamed from his cheeks. The identities of the man and woman, the two identities that he burned to find out he finally knew, and as he came to that realization—due to his memory kicking in—he knew that nothing ever pained him more. "Mom…dad…." He said quietly to himself as he fell. Kanaahn shot upright in and instant, it took him a few minutes to realize he was lying in the back of the wagon, breaking out in a cold sweat. Kanaahn groaned and wiped his body off with his blanket. He stood up and peaked outside the back, looking at the sky; the sun was directly overhead, it was noon. Kanaahn sighed and hopped out the back, he looked around the camp and noticed that everyone was gathered around the burnt out campfire, talking about something that was inaudible to him.

Kanaahn rubbed his hand over his face and walked towards the group. Sitting himself down on a log that he pulled up around the fire last night he sighed, "Morning…" he said quietly. Everyone greeted him just as quietly as he had him or her. Kanaahn stared blankly at the pile of ashes that was once a fire, Kyeit and Arial exchanged glances. They knew something was wrong, and sat themselves down on either side of Kanaahn. "Alright," said Kyeit plainly, "What's bugging you? And don't lie, or Arial will hit you." Arial nodded, "Yeah, we're friends, you're not hiding it from us that easy." She agreed. Kanaahn sighed again and cleared his throat; "Well…" he said quietly, "You guys remember those two demon riders we had to fight off in Romontya?" Everyone nodded, "Well," he said, "I had a dream last night. And I saw them kill two people…and I think…I think the two people he killed were my parents." Arial raised an eyebrow, "Your parents died before you even had a memory, you've never seen them," he said, "How can you be sure it was them?" Kanaahn looked over at Arial, "Even a two month old baby can recognize their parents," he said, "It just took me sixteen years…" Kyeit bit her lip and looked over at Kanaahn, "Do you have an proof that it's them?" she asked. Kanaahn nodded, "Yeah," he answered, "When I fought those two in the streets of Romontya, one of them pinned me down and spoke to me. He told me that I looked like 'him' and that I had 'her' eyes. And I had no idea what he meant, until I had that dream last night. I saw a man and woman—the people that I think are my mom and dad, and the woman's eyes—they were similar to mine. And the man looked like me." Cecil and Kyeit exchanged glances, and then looked back at Kanaahn, "How does that prove that they were your parents?" asked Cecil. Kanaahn continued, "Because, I've always been told that I look like my father, but I have my mother's eyes. And I find it more than a coincidence that I have a dream about my parents right after these two enemy riders show up and talk about people I resemble. Which reminds me! The dark riders were in the dream too, they were the ones who killed my parents actually…"

Kyeit frowned, "Kanaahn-" she began, but was cut off by Kanaahn, "I know you don't believe me," said Kanaahn, "But I am sure about this." Kyeit sighed and interrupted him, "Kanaahn," she said, "I believe you…in fact I _know_ for a fact you're telling the truth." Kanaahn looked at Kyeit in surprise, "What do you mean?" he asked. Cecil sighed, "I'll tell him, don't worry Kyeit," she said. Kanaahn stood up with a clenched fist, "Tell me what? I don't know what's going on here." He said in frustration. Cecil, sighed, rubbed her forehead and finally spoke, "They're called the Kothar, it's draconic for demon." She said quickly, before Kanaahn could ask questions she continued, "They were—and are—Tenebrae's lap dogs. They do his dirty work when he and his other followers don't want to get their hands soiled. They are both human-dragon highbreds, outcasts from both races. And yes, they killed your parents. They killed a lot of people…they killed Kyeit's parents too…" Kanaahn looked over at Kyeit, she looked un-phased by it—on the outside—but there was a lot of anger, pain and sadness beneath it all. Kanaahn walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, she shrugged him off however, and turned away from everyone and walked off towards the woods, disappearing into the trees. Only Valence dared to follow her. Cecil raised a hand at Kanaahn, "Leave her Kanaahn," she said softly, "She just found out last night. She was bugged by similar dreams as you did. She hasn't had the same amount of time you had to cope with the loss of her parents. She didn't even know that they were dead before now."

Kanaahn nodded, still staring at the place where Kyeit disappeared, Cecil gave a weak smile and walked next to him. "Kanaahn," she said softly, "Come with me. It's time you knew the whole story." Kanaahn nodded and followed, not even bothering to argue. He followed Cecil towards the forest, in the opposite direction of Kanaahn, Kinokaze followed close behind. Once they reached a clearing big enough to fit not only Cecil and Kanaahn, but Kinokaze as well. Once Kinokaze was settled, with her head rested on her front forelegs, her large glassy eyes half shut and watching Kanaahn and Cecil with half interest, Cecil cleared her throat and began. "Kanaahn," she said, "I need to tell you the truth about your parents and how they died." Kanaahn looked hard at Cecil and asked, "I want to know something else first," he said, "I want to know how long you've known about this; all of this. About me and Kyeit's parents, about the Kothar, about everything!" Cecil didn't react to Kanaahn's outburst, he was justified, and Cecil knew this would be hard for him to take the first time. "Since I joined you," she said, "Aeramen told me everything before I left, he foresaw the Kothar returning and knew that you would be travelling with me, so he saw fit to tell me your past and your parent's legacy…among other things—and no I can't tell you what they are. Not unless you figure them out like you have now. I made a promise." Kanaahn nodded and sat down on the grass, Cecil followed and sat with her back leaning against Kinokaze's neck. "Can we get on with this please?" he asked, "I'd like to know…after sixteen years, I want to know the truth."

Cecil nodded and continued, "Get comfortable, this could take a while," she said as she shifted in her place, "I suppose I should start with your parent's legacy. It'll help clarify things in the long run. Now, your parents, Llilor and Isstora Saatus, were once powerful Daron Generals—they joined because your family lineage. Your father's family has been serving the Daron for over a thousand years—they were a great asset to the Daron, and some of the strongest members of their time. As you may or may not have learned from your dream last night, you father was the rider of a blue dragon named, Ana'datil. And your mother was the rider of a red dragon named, Naru. For many years they argued with the Daron Council of Elders—the father, mother, and various other close relatives of the Tsuru siblings—on whether or not Tenebrae was returning. Your mother and father continued to argue that it was happening, that Tenebrae was alive and regaining power. They kept telling us that we needed to prepare. The Council however, disagreed, and never took the precautions that we should've taken. So your parents decided to go around their back, they did scouting missions throughout the Continent, trying to find any clues as to Tenebrae's whereabouts, and the amount of power he had access too. Unfortunately, they didn't expect Tenebrae to be in control of their home country, Altimara. And one night, while they slept peacefully in their beds, a few short steps away from their newborn baby boy—that's you. Tenebrae sent his two guinea pigs, the Kothar, to slaughter and kill your parents. You see, your parents—though failing to ascertain his whereabouts—had determined solid reports of how strong he was. They knew he was only a soul who was using the body of another, and they knew he was biding his time and amassing the power necessary to resurrect himself in his old body, as well as bring back the minions that followed him in the first war. They were going to bring this proof back to the Tsuru Council next, but the Kothar killed them the night before the meeting. I don't need to go any further though…you already know what happened in detail that night…"

Cecil paused; she looked at Kanaahn to see how he was taking it. But wasn't surprised when she looked up and saw his head down, his long hair keeping his face from view. Cecil didn't know if he was in tears or not, but felt it best to continue before she found out for sure. "Shortly afterwards, the Kothar killed the Elder Council, leaving only the kids alive—due to the bravery and strength of Ayama, Moe, Ite, Yumi and Baku. Who were, at the time, the only siblings old enough to fight the Kothar." Cecil paused again, this time she saw that Kanaahn was looking up, he didn't look like he was crying, just brooding. "Do you-" Cecil stopped, realizing she was speaking quietly, cleared her throat and continued again, louder. "Do you have any question?" she asked calmly and apologetically, "Anything else you'd like to know?" Kanaahn thought for a second, "A few," he said, "My parents…are there any pictures of them in the Daron's possession? Any pictures of them when they were still alive I mean…" Cecil nodded, "Yes," she said, "In fact, there are portraits of them in Master Austrica's possession. You can ask him to see them when we reach Ethon, I'm sure he'll understand if you explain who you are and what it means to you." Kanaahn nodded, "Yeah…" he said quietly, "Can I ask something else?" Cecil nodded, readjusting her sitting position. Kanaahn hesitated for a moment, then reassured himself and asked, "Where do Kyeit's parents fit into all of this?" he asked. Cecil sighed and replied, plainly but not coldly, but still enough to make Kanaahn recoil and regret asking. "That is her story and her past," she said, "It will be up to Kyeit to tell you or not. You'll have to ask her, but don't do it now wait." Kanaahn nodded, "I know," he said, "I wouldn't be that cruel to her…but I can comfort her right?" Cecil smiled, "Yes," she said, "But give her space when she needs it." Kanaahn gave a weak smile, "Of course."

Kanaahn put his hands beside him and grunted as he stood up. "I just gained another reason to fight," he said. Cecil raised a wary eyebrow, "And what would that be?" she asked. Kanaahn wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword, causing them to turn a bright white. "I'm going to avenge my parents death, and kill these Kothar." Said Kanaahn through tightly gritted teeth, "For me, for Kyeit, for the Tsurus, and for anyone else who's lost a loved one to these demons." Cecil went to reason with him, but Kanaahn was already dashing back to camp before she could say anything. Cecil sat there silent for a few minutes, watching the place where Kanaahn had disappeared like it was about to do a back flip. She sighed, groaned and leaned her head back against Kinokaze's neck. Kinokaze opened a previously closed eye and smiled, she gave a low rumbling chuckle and a small puff of smoke escaped from her nostrils. "That boy will be the death of you, Cecil-wanotreyxkaiv." She said. Cecil smiled and turned herself to face Kinokaze, she slowly pet the length of her dragon's long scaly neck, she gave a small smile, "If he doesn't end up killing himself with his reckless abandon first." She replied. Kinokaze laughed again, more smoke escaping from her nostrils. "He is brave though," she said, "You cannot deny that." Cecil sighed and nodded, "I know," she said, "I guess it's a give and take thing then. He's brave, but he's reckless." Cecil sighed again, but instantly shot her attention towards a loud crashing sound coming from the camp, followed by a loud roar. Cecil and Kinokaze jumped from their sitting positions and dashed towards the camp.

As Cecil ran she could hear a loud hissing noise that sent chills up her spine, causing her to shiver as she ran. The hissing was followed by another roar, then the sound of several whinnying horses. Cecil could hear Arkas and Arial trying to calm them down. "Hurry Kinokaze!" she shouted as she pulled her sword and reached the clearing where the camp was. Cecil and Kinokaze burst out of the trees, and almost dropped her sword as she saw the scene that ensued. A black dragon stood at the other edge of the clearing. His front foreleg was covered in scars; remnants of a wound that was so great that even magic couldn't heal it properly. The dragon limped as it and Djall thrashed violently with each other. Cecil turned slightly and saw Kanaahn and a hooded rider clashing swords. "The Kothar…" she whispered. Kinokaze let out a low growl, "What should we do Cecil?" she asked. Cecil lowered her sword in response, "Let him handle it his way," she said, "If he fails, we'll step in." Meanwhile, Kanaahn fought against one of the Kothar, the same one he had battled back in Romontya. Kanaahn attacked the Kothar with ferocity and anger, "Nice to meet you again," said Kanaahn as he thrust his sword toward the Kothar's abdomen. The Kothar hissed and gave a low growl, his small pointed teeth along with his glinting yellow eyes were the only things visible from behind his hood, "It issssssss, isssssn't it?" returned the Kothar sarcastically as he blocked Kanaahn's attack, sending his sword flying off to the sword. Kanaahn grunted and gritted his teeth, he spun around, this time aiming for the Kothar's head. The Kothar smiled again and blocked Kanaahn's attack, but the enraged Kanaahn forced more of his strength into the blow, sending the Kothar to the ground and the sword flying from his hand.

Kanaahn gave an angered growl as he rammed his heal into the Kothar's chest, pinning him to the ground. The Kothar hissed as the air shot from his gut. Placing his sword to the Kothar's throat, Kanaahn glared hard at his enemy, pressing his foot deeper into the Kothar's stomach. "You killed my parents," spat Kanaahn, "You killed my parents, and the Tsuru's parents, and Kyeit's parents. You slaughtered them all in cold blood, did you even consider that they have families? Did you ever wonder if one day, maybe, just _maybe_ that the children of one of your kills would come back to slaughter you? To make you feel the same pain that we did? Did you? Do you know what you put me through! I lived my whole life never knowing my parents for who they were, all because of your stupid bloodlust! Well now I'm going to kill you here! Just like you killed them! Now you're going to be the one that's afraid! You're going to beg for mercy! You're going to be lying here in a pool of your old blood!" The Kothar was silent, Kanaahn could see he was afraid, and Kanaahn raised his sword, about to decapitate his enemy. When all of a sudden, Kanaahn saw the fear dissolve from the Kothar's eyes, and it was replaced by contempt and malice, and the Kothar smiled. Kanaahn stopped, "What's so funny?" he asked with rage, "Why do you smile now? When I'm about to kill you?" The Kothar hissed, still smiling, "If you kill me now, you'll never know the truth." Said the creature. Kanaahn's eyes narrowed, "What _truth_?" he spat the words back at the Kothar with so much rage, he thought each word would explode after they left his mouth. The Kothar hissed again and smiled wider, "You seem to be a member short," he said, "Are you not?" Kanaahn's rage disappeared, he thought for a second. The Kothar was right, there was a member missing, _Shooter_ was still missing.

The rage returned ten fold and Kanaahn pressed his sword harder against the Kothar's neck. "What did you do with Shooter?" roared Kanaahn. The Kothar gave a sickening, hissing laugh; "The blonde one?" asked the Kothar rhetorically, "Yessssss, I remember him. He rode a red dragon and had many knivessssssss, my partner and I desssssstroyed him lasssssst night. He isssss dead, hisssssss remainsssss lie throughout the foressssstssss outsssssssside Romontya. He fell from a great height, I doubt he issssss ssssssssstill in one pieccccccccccce." The Kothar released another sickening laugh and Kanaahn gave a loud roar. He stomped his foot as hard as he could into the Kothar's chest, silencing and winding the creature. Just as Kanaahn was about to remove the Kothar's head, there was a roar from above, and everyone looked up to see the second Kothar flying in circles around the clearing. The Kothar on the ground took this opportunity to escape, kicking Kanaahn in the chest, sending him down to the ground. The Kothar ran towards his dragon and took off in a flashing, laughing, hissing back towards the group, "Untill we meet again!" Meeting up with its partner and flying off towards the north, the Kothar released a final hissing laugh before leaving earshot. Kanaahn watched angrily as the two demons flew out of sight, and after punching the ground in rage, ran off towards the woods. "Dammit!" shouted Kanaahn, "I let them get away! I can't believe I was distracted! I'm going for a walk, I'll be back later." As Kanaahn disappeared into the trees, Cecil sighed as she leaned against Kinokaze's front leg, "Oh yeah, and did I mention before that he's reckless too?"


	10. Chapter 8: Shooter's Story

Chapter 8: Shooter's Story

Shooter groaned as he woke up, the last thing he remembered was hitting the ground hard. As he opened his eyes his vision slowly came back to him. He could see Risasi in front of him, his wing was bandaged, and Shooter could see there were at least 12 other people next to Risasi, all of them were sitting around a campfire. Shooter groaned again and shook his head, clearing his vision, he saw a wagon—no, two wagons. Shooter, for a moment, thought that it was Kanaahn and the others who had come back to help him. But Shooter soon found he was mistaken, as his vision cleared, he looked at the 12 figures and saw that they were 12 very large, burly, bearded men, all of them middle aged with various scars on their arms, chests and faces. Shooter went to jump up instinctively and reach for his daggers, but when he went to move his arms, he realized he couldn't. Looking at his body, Shooter realized that ropes bound him. 'Damn it!' he thought, 'How am I going to get out of this?' What was worse, the men had obviously noticed that Shooter had recovered consciousness, because one of them grunted and pointed a thumb at him. Shooter's heart pounded out of his chest as he saw one of the men walk up to him with a dagger in hand. Shooter jammed his eyes shut, not wanting to watch his own death, when suddenly he felt the tension around his body loosen. Shooter's bonds had been cut, the man wasn't trying to kill him, but free him. Warily—Shooter was still not sure of the man's real intentions—followed the man back towards the campfire. Another man, a big burly man with thick muscled arms, a bald head lots of rough stubble that covered a dirty and sweaty face spoke first, "Come on an' siddown boy," he said through a thick accent as he ladeld soup into a small wooden bowl, "Eat up, yeh mus' be 'ungry, yeh've bin out col' fer abou' three days." The man offered Shooter the bowl of what Shooter once thought was soup and now realized that it was thick, and seemed more along the lines of stew, or so Shooter hoped.

Shooter slowly reached out and took the bowl. Placing it on his lap he watched each and everyone one of the man. Studying their faces and builds, determining whether or not they meant him harm. Shooter's eyes shot to Risasi finally, who gave him a look as if to say 'They're safe.' It was then that it doned on Shooter that it was the men who had bandaged Risasi's wing. Who else could've done it? After much debate, Shooter finally spoke, "Thank you for bandaging my dragon," he said to the man who had offered him the soup. The man looked up at Shooter and chuckled, "Lookit, the boy speaks," he said laughing, "I thought 'e'd stay mute forever." The rest of the group laughed and Shooter looked down nervously at his stew, he wasn't usually this shy, but these men unnerved him for some reason. Maybe it was because he didn't know them, or because they tied him up, or because they were being so kind to him despite not knowing anything about him, or maybe it was just the way they looked. But for some unexplainable reason, Shooter was speechless and afraid. The man who offered Shooter the stew stopped laughing and the rest of the group quickly followed suit, "Don' worry boy, I was jes kiddin'" he said, "But yeh don' need ta thank me fer anythin'. It's against the law in these lands to leave a dragon injured or bound. We 'ave to abide by those laws, especially the dragon laws, I don't particularly like bein' on the bad side of a dragon."

The group laughed again at this, and the man continued once things quieted down, "Besides, dragons are such rare and beautiful creatures—don't go thinkin' I'm soft jes cuz I said that—it'd be a cryin' shame to leave one to die. Yeh can go ta hell for those kinds of things, they'll damn you once yer dead." Shooter looked up hopefully at the man and asked, "Who set these dragon friendly laws?" The man almost fell off his seat laughing, but holding his composure as best he could and answered, "The universe boy! Them are rules set by tha universe! Yeh can' go breakin' 'em that easily. Like I said, you'd be damned to hell if yeh did. Dragons know when one of their owns been killed, and they'll 'unt down tha killer and make 'em suffer jes as bad—worse even! Horrible stuff dragons can be, great yes—but horrible if yeh ever cross 'em. Which reminds me, what's a boy like yerself doin' travelin' around with a dragon anyhow?" Shooter gulped, that was a question he wasn't sure he should answer. He remembered what Kanaahn said about being careful whom he reveals himself too, and if these people worked for Tenebrae or for those two monsters that attacked him and Risasi earlier, then revealing who he really was would be a mistake. But Shooter also remembered that if it wasn't for these guys he and Risasi would be dead. They had bandaged and no doubt fed Risasi was Shooter was unconscious, and they had obviously attempted to care of Shooter by keeping him safe while he was out, and then fed him when he woke up. Shooter wasn't sure of much right now, but he was sure that Tenebrae or his servants didn't have a shred of decency or compassion in them for him _or_ another dragon, and wouldn't have bothered to go this far to help them. Shooter decided to tell them, "I'm Shooter Maxin, Dragon Warrior and Rider of the Red Dragon." Shooter felt a sudden wave of importance and being wash over him as he said that. It was doubled when the men started whispering and looking at him in awe. The man who offered Shooter the stew laughed loudly, "I knew it!" he shouted, "I knew yeh were him! I recognized you from Ottogard! That one day when they outlawed dragons in Altimara! I saw yeh fight off a crowd, tellin' 'em how dragon 'untin' was wrong. Boy, yer alrigh' in my books because of tha' I'll tell yeh now.—" the man offered his hand to Shooter to shake, Shooter accepted as the man continued "—tha name's Honch.

Oh, an' I should let yeh know, it doesn' matter who yeh are, as long as yer travellin' with us, yeh'll be doin' equal work. An' if yeh don' we'll hafta kill yeh." Shooter's stomach dropped at this, he didn't want to die but he also didn't feel like working, not after that—in fact, not ever. He looked over at Risasi, who simply looked back at him with a "It's for the best look." Shooter sighed, he knew he'd have to do it, no matter what, and he had a feeling that even if he complained it wouldn't do him much good. Shooter quietly finished his stew and then asked, "What kind of work is involved?" he asked, "And where are you guys headed?" Honch looked over at him while he lit his pipe, "We're 'eadin' ta Ethon, where else?" he asked with a laughed, "We're going there ta sell our wears." Shooter raised an eyebrow, "And what wears are those?" asked Shooter. Honch laughed, "Lumber," he said, "And ta answer yer second question, that'll be what yer work'll be. Yeh'll be helpin' us cut down lumber, and Risasi 'ere 'as offered ta help us lug it ta tha city." Shooter looked over at Risasi who nodded, giving him a look which this time said, "It was the least I could do." Shooter sighed under his breath and nodded, "Alright, sounds fair enough," he said. Honch nodded as he stood up and stamped out the fire, and it was then that Shooter realized it was night. Honch and the others got up and walked to the wagons, pulling out bed rolls and laying them out on the ground. Honch threw a bed roll at Shooter and said, "Yeh better get ta sleep boy," he said advisedly, "Yer gonna want all tha sleep yeh can get before tomorrow. Yeh'll be workin' yer butt off, and yeh'll be more useful to use rested than dead tired. Oh, an' remember, screw up and we'll kill yeh." Honch walked off laughing, and this line slightly worried Shooter, but he knew Honch was right about sleeping, and did as the old man said—despite the fear of death. Lying out his bedroll, he snuggled up under the blanket, wrapping them up around his neck. Risasi gave a low growl and curled up around Shooter, as if to protect him. Shooter could instantly feel the warmth running off Risasi's body, and with the added heat, found no trouble getting comfortable, and drifted off to sleep.

Shooter was woken up early the next morning as Risasi shot a puff of smoke in his face. "Wake up my human," whispered Risasi, "It is time for you to work." Shooter groaned quietly and got up, and after rolling up his bedroll and throwing it into the back of one of the wagons with the others. As he sat by a new morning fire and warmed himself, Honch patted him on the shoulder and threw him a piece of bread. "Eat fast," said Honch through a mouthful of bread, "We're headin' back out in ta tha woods in a few." Shooter quickly shoved the bread into his mouth; he just wanted to get all this work over with. He had no idea how he was going to survive, he had never done a hard days work in his life, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. Shooter just wasn't built for this kind of stuff, and if it weren't for the threat of death, he would've complained and refused. And it's not like he could fly away on Risasi, because his wing was still injured, and there was no doubt he wouldn't be able to fly for at least another week. Shooter sighed again as he stood up and walked over to Risasi. After a few minutes of waiting, Honch and the other men walked up to Risasi and Shooter and began to lead the way into the forest. While they walked towards the place where Honch had marked out for them, Shooter decided to make some conversation, so he asked, "What do you and your men do for a living?" he asked, "Are you traders?" Honch laughed a deep chuckle, "_Traders_?" he chuckled, "Lord no, we're bandits! We're only tradin' lumber 'ere cuz we aven't 'ad any good hauls, so we figured sellin' lumber would get us enough money ta keep goin' fer now."

Shooter nodded slowly, now more afraid of Honch, and especially of his death threats. Shooter was never happier in his life to hear that he was at the marked area and could now begin to work. Taking the first chance he could, Shooter bolted towards a tree—grabbing an axe from one of the wagons that had been brought along on the trek—and started hacking away. There was a solid whack with every strike, and with each strike a vibration of shock from the impact worked its way back up into Shooter's arms and body. Shooter kept whacking away for about twenty minutes, lost deep in his thoughts, surprisingly to him the whacking noise was a good way of keeping his thoughts centered. Shooter looked up from hacking and wiped his brow; he looked at his tree and frowned. Shooter wasn't even a quarter of the way through his tree, looking around Shooter's frown grew as he saw that everyone was on their second tree. Honch—who was on his third tree—came over in tears, bursting out laughing, "Hey boys! Come take a look at this!" he said, getting everyone to turn their attention to Shooter's tree, "This boys barely made a scratch here in 'is tree!" Honch paused for a round of laughter from everyone else and continued, "Maybe yeh should go try yer luck with an easier tree, Shooter." He said, "Like a twig!" There was another burst of laughter and Shooter had had enough. He brought the axe up high and struck the tree, there was a much louder whack the before. Shooter brought the axe down again, and again, and again, and again, and again. 20 whacks later, Shooter had chopped right through the tree and it fell with a loud crash. Shooter looked triumphantly over at Honch, who smiled and patted him on the soulder, "Atta boy," he said smiling, "Use that same anger next time tree yeh get, alrigh'?"

Shooter nodded as Honch walked off to his third tree. Shooter walked over to another tree, wondering what he could use to center his anger on. Then suddenly his mind went to Kanaahn, and he realized something for the first time. Kanaahn had ditched him, 'Bastard!' thought Shooter instantly. Kanaahn had left him to die, and hadn't even come looking for him. Did he even miss him? Did Kanaahn even notice that Shooter was gone? Why hadn't he come to get him? Did something happen to him? Was he killed? No…that can't be it, everyone one else was with him. They wouldn't just leave me though…it must've been Kanaahn! Kanaahn, that selfish leader! I can't believe he made them all ditch me! Before Shooter knew it he gave a loud roar and swung his axe hard, then he swung it again, and again, and again. This time it took 10 swings before his tree fell with a crash. Shooter knew he had found his center of anger, his driving force. Normally Shooter wouldn't dwell on his rage like this, but it gave him the chance to plan out exactly what he'd say to Kanaahn next time he saw him. With Kanaahn and his anger towards Kanaahn lodged deep in his mind, Shooter continued working until the sun was almost setting. By then, almost 100 trees had been cut down, and they were loaded onto a train of at least 5, long, flatbed wagons. Each of them held at least 20 logs—all of which were stripped of branches, bark, leaves—and were all tied together, and the head wagon was strapped to Risasi.

Risasi gave a roar as he took a step, then another, and then another. After a few struggled steps he finally got a good pace going, and he dragged the wagons behind him, back towards the camp. Honch smiled as he put his arm around Shooter, "Yer dragon and yeh are useful," he said, "It's a shame yer gonna be leavin' once we reach Ethon—least I assume yeh are. Am I righ'?" Shooter nodded, tired and exhausted, surprised he was still walking, "Yeah, we're meeting up with some friends in the city." He said." Honch chuckled and walked up towards the head of the group, "Well, then we'll use yeh as long as we got yeh then." He called back before disappearing to lead the group back to camp. The rest of the night was a tired blur to Shooter, he remembered hearing laughing from Honch and his men, and he was laughing along with them. And he remembered the fire, and their dinner—though what they had was a blur, he just remembered eating something that tasted like rabbit and vegetables that had been sitting there for two long—and he remembered Risasi falling asleep right after dinner. Shooter didn't remember, however, curling up in in sleeping bad and falling to sleep. Though he did remember Honch saying gruffly from over in his bedroll, "G'night Shooter, remember, if yeh loose yer worth we'll probably kill you in yer sleep." With that, Shooter was fast asleep, wrapped in his dreams. Dreams that became nightmares, nightmares of Kanaahn and the others, he had gone to meet back up with them, but they didn't recognize him and they abandoned him again. But soon Shooter's nightmare became a dream again, and he was with Risasi, and the bandits, living his life with them. And for some reason, he didn't mind so much.


	11. Chapter 9: Going For A Swim

Chapter 9: Going For A Swim

Shooter was dead. That was the only thing Kanaahn could think about. Shooter was dead; his parents were dead, and both by the same hands. Kanaahn hadn't been able to keep thoughts of revenge from his mind. He continued to phase out since their last run in with the Kothar, and since then Cecil had taken over his wagon for him because Kanaahn was unable to concentrate on driving it. Kanaahn sat with his sword in his lap, in the back of the wagon that used to be his, Kyeit sat across from him, staring out the back at the dragons, who followed along slowly and silently. Kyeit had tried several times to get Kanaahn off his revenge plans, but failed each time. Resulting in her giving him the ultimatum, give up revenge or she stopped talking to him. Unfortunately Kanaahn was too stubborn to listen to her, and the two of them hadn't talked for two days. No matter what, Kanaahn couldn't let go of the fact that the same two…things that killed his parents had not only ruined his childhood by doing so, but also killed one of his best friends. All of this had come at Kanaahn so fast he had barely any time to react, and the first reaction he chose was the most rash and unreasonable one he could've picked. But Kanaahn was stubborn, more than that he was angry, and he knew that he had started down a path he wasn't easily going to give up. Kanaahn sighed and looked out at the road ahead, and noticed that the trees were starting to thin out, and the dirt road seemed to disappear in patches and became part of the grass that covered the forest floor. Kanaahn was about to ask what that meant, when Cecil answered that for him without prompting, "We're almost at Lake Ardona." She said pensively, "The way I see it we have two ways of getting to Ethon from here. We can either swim across it on our dragons, or go around the lake and continue with the wagons."

Kanaahn responded first, "How long would it take us to reach Ethon both ways?" he asked. Cecil responded quickly, not taking her piercing, hazel eyes off the road ahead, "If we cross the lake: three, four days at the most. If we go around: A week, maybe more." Cecil answered. Kanaahn was again the first to reply, "Then it's an easy choice, we go through." He said. Kyeit spoke up suddenly, startling Kanaahn—who hadn't heard her voice in days—she glanced over at him venomously and said, "If we go across on dragons, what are we going to do with the horses and wagons?" she asked glaring at Kanaahn. Arial and Arkas, who had pulled up on either side of Cecil's wagon, began to partake in the conversation, agreeing with Kyeit. "Kyeit's right," added Arkas, "The wagons won't float, and the horses can't swim. And we can't leave them behind, because all of our supplies and rations are in these wagons." Kanaahn glared back at Kyeit, he had never felt more ganged up on his in life. Ever since his and Kyeit's disagreement the other day, everyone seemed to be attacking him left, right and center, even Cecil—who found it impossible to truly hate _anybody_—seemed to be ignoring Kanaahn a little more. "Well, we definitely don't have the supplies to last us another week," he said bitterly, "We barely have enough to last us the three days crossing the lake with take."

Arial sighed, she knew the reason behind Kyeit and Kanaahn's arguing, and she knew it was the whole reason that the two of them were butting heads right now. Arial was the only one who hadn't shut Kanaahn out, but even she was tiring of the couple's constant bickering lately. "Look, can you two leave your personal affairs out of this for a bit?" she said looking between Kanaahn and Kyeit, "Just until we settle this little problem of ours." There was a silence as Kyeit and Kanaahn looked away from each other, giving Arial the perfect opportunity to continue speaking. "Thank you," said Arial promptly, "Now, Kyeit is right, we can't leave the wagons and horses behind and they definitely can't swim with us. But Kanaahn is right too, we don't have the supplies to last us the long way, and the sooner we get to Ethon, the better—for _everyone_." Everyone was silent as they listened to Arial speak, "We're going to take the path across the lake," she said authoritatively, "But we need a solution as how to take the horses and wagons along with us. Any ideas?" As if on cue, Djall and Valence appeared on either side of the three wagons. "May we make a suggestion?" asked Valence—she was also one of the few people who hadn't shut Kanaahn out since his argument with Kyeit, and in fact had tried to get the two of them talking again, to no avail. "Go ahead, Valence." said Arial cheerfully to her. Djall was the one to answer this time, "We overheard your dilemma, and we thought up the idea of a raft." He said. Kanaahn looked out the back of the wagon at his dragon, "A raft?" he asked. Valence nodded, "Yes," she said, "If we made a raft out of trees we could roll the wagons and horses onto it, then we could harness the raft onto one of us dragons and then we can all swim across safely."

Cecil and Arial looked at each other and thought, then smiled and looked up at the dragons. "It sounds like a good idea," said Cecil, "But how do you suppose we make the rafts? And how would we make harnesses for the dragon who's towing them." Djall smiled and quickly flapped his wings once, smoke rose gently from his nostrils, "We have an idea for all of that," he said, "Get us to the lake and we can get started." Cecil smiled as she pulled her wagon to a halt, "No need," she said, "We're already here." Kanaahn looked up and out the front of the wagon, and his jaw dropped at what he saw. A massive lake stood before them, like a large sapphire sea, sparkling in the midday sun like a glorious jewel. It stretched as far as Kanaahn could see, a faint green line sat level with Kanaahn's eyes across the lake. Kanaahn figured that was where the other side of the lake was. Hopping from the wagon, Kanaahn looked up at Djall and asked, "So what's your plan Djall?" he asked. Djall smiled and looked at Valence, who responded to Kanaahn's question, "We were thinking that if we fell some trees and stripped them of their branches and bark, then tied them together with vines we could make a raft," said Valence. "Sounds like a solid plan," said Arkas, "And what about the harness?" Djall answered this time, "More vines," he said, "We tie vines—several intertwined vines actually—to the raft and from the raft to one of our saddles, and we were also thinking that we could tie the horses and wagons down to the raft so that they don't fall off."

Kanaahn thought for a second and then looked at the surrounding trees, "Well, the trees are thick enough," he said, "And tying down the horses and wagons could work. The only problem is, we need vines, and where will we find those?" Arial popped up behind Kanaahn, smiling as she pulled a rolled up piece of parchment from her satchel, "I can deal with the vines, just focus on knocking down and stripping the trees." Kanaahn nodded and looked at Djall, who—with two grate swoops of his tail and two steps backwards—fell almost thirty long, and fairly thick trees in a matter of seconds. Kanaahn looked over at the now fallen trees, and saw that all of them had been ripped completely from the ground, roots and all. Kanaahn laughed, "Well, that's certainly thorough," he said. Fyete responding, appearing behind Djall with a smile, "As expected from any dragon," he said, "We prefer to be thorough, and precise." Arial rolled her eyes, "Meanwhile you dragons can take out a building if you sit down the wrong way," she replied wittily. Fyete chuckled, "We never said that we were consistent about things," he laughed. Djall chuckled and turned to Fyete, "You can come for a reason brother?" asked the green dragon, still smiling. Fyete's face became serious as he answered, "I'm offering to pull the raft across the water." Djall raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you're up for it brother?" he asked in a concerned tone, "I mean, you're strong, as any dragon is, but you're not exactly Risasi or Valence…"

Fyete kept his serious look and said, "That's exactly it; everyone else has a use in this group but me. You're good for your strategic thinking, Valence and Kinokaze for their knowledge of the world and everything in it, Risasi for his immense size and strength, Adalinda for her coolheaded nature, and what have I done?" Djall stayed silent for a few moments, before sighed deeply and replying, "Very well," he said, "Arial, hook up the vines to Fyete when you're ready, make sure they're nice and tight so they wont undo. Kanaahn and I will strip the logs." Arial nodded wordlessly and unrolled her parchment, scanning over it for the right spells to use. Meanwhile, Kanaahn and Djall have begun to strip trees. This job was made fairly easy because of Djall's strength and Kanaahn's quick thinking. While Kanaahn held the trees upright, Djall would use the scales on his tail to gracefully and skillfully strip the trees of all bark, leaves, roots and branches. Within twenty minutes, each of the thirty logs had been laid out in a long row, each log placed side by side lengthwise. Djall had just finish using his powerful jaws to snap a bit of the top and bottom off each log when Arial and Fyete walked over, Arial's arms filled with a thick mass of vines that seemed the size of Valence's head. Throwing the vines on the ground with a flop, Arial grabbed each of the ends and started to tie them around Fyete—who had knelt down to allow Arial easy access to him. Kanaahn on the other hand was using the other ends of the vines to tie all of the logs together tightly, and then fasten the raft to Fyete's harness. As Cecil, Kyeit and Arkas began to lead the horses towards the raft, Djall placed two of his claws between a space between two of the logs, trying to force them apart. Once he was satisfied that the raft was well built, he allowed the wagons and horses to be wheeled onto the raft.

After the horses and wagons were properly rested on the raft—each of the wheels of the wagons resting comfortably and unmoving between the gaps between two logs—Kanaahn and Arial tied the wagons and horses to the raft with vines. Arial and Kanaahn had no trouble tying down the wagons, but when it came time for the horses, they required the help of Arkas to get them to kneel before they could properly tie them down. Once all of the preparations had been made and everything was checked and double checked, everyone mounted their dragons, and one by one, marched into the cool water. There was a sloshing and splashing sound as the dragons walked through the shallower ends of the lake—Fyete was the last of them all, walking slower than most, and using his tail as a balance for the raft whenever it showed signs of tilting—but soon, there was a sudden drop and the lake deepened, and before anyone knew it, the dragons were slithering through the lake, paddling majestically with their powerful legs. Moving in and out like a snake, slithering on its belly across the ground. Kanaahn sat on Djall's back, his feet—Kanaahn had taken off his boots and slung them over the back of Djall's saddle—soaking in the water below.

Kanaahn smiled, there was nothing but the sound of the wind blowing over the lake, the gently sloshing of the water as the dragons slithered through it, and the chirp of birds as they flew overhead. Kanaahn sighed and sat back in his saddle, he couldn't believe the beauty of Lake Ardona, and for a long moment, Kanaahn forgot all about Shooter being dead, and all about his revenge, and all about the Kothar, and his parents, and everything that happened over the past couple days. Smiling Kanaahn thought of the beauty of the moment, reflecting on it, and wondering if he should go over to Kyeit to ask her opinion, when it suddenly dawned on him, Kyeit wasn't talking to him, and Kanaahn's stomach sank. Djall smiled and kept swimming; "Missing Kyeit?" asked the dragon without turning around. Kanaahn nodded silently in response. "Then go apologize to her," said Djall, "If it hurts you that much to be apart from her, then apologize and get her back. The girl means a lot to you, I see how you are around her." Kanaahn sighed and looked to his left, his eyes fixed on the far end of the lake, which was nothing more than a green streak over the vast sea of blue. "But I can't," said Kanaahn, "That would mean saying I'm wrong. I can't do that, especially when I know I'm right." Djall rolled his eyes and snorted, letting smoke poof from his nostrils in a sudden burst, "Right?" asked Djall skeptically, "About what? That killing a group of vicious killers is the right thing to do? Just to avenge the death of your parents and friend?"

Kanaahn's jaw locked, "You speak of them like they're toys," said Kanaahn, "They meant something to me. My parents brought me into this world. You should know what I mean, to be separated from your parents for your whole life, the only difference is that I _can't_ just run into my parents somewhere like your did, my parents are gone. As for Shooter—" Djall let out a low growl, followed by a short roar which soon returned to a growl, "Do not use that tone with me Kanaahn," said Djall, "I am your friend and partner yes, but be that as it may I am still a dragon and I still have all the perks that come with it. I am sorry that I touched a nerve, but watch your tongue before you end up learning dragon anatomy from the inside out." Kanaahn fell silent, Djall had never spoke to him like that before, granted Kanaahn had never spoken to Djall as he did before either, so his response was warranted but just as surprising either way. "I-I'm sorry Djall…I shouldn't have responded like that," apologized Kanaahn. Djall released another jet of smoke from his nostrils, "There, was that so hard?" asked Djall, "You just apologized Kanaahn, you admitted your wrongs. Was that so hard to do?" Kanaahn had realized what had just happened, he had fallen into Djall's trap, "I-…I-…" stammered Kanaahn dumbly, "I mean come on, that wasn't—…that was totally different you can't expect—" Kanaahn was suddenly at a loss for words, he drew a heavy sigh and accepted defeat, "No, it wasn't." He mumbled. Djall chuckled; "You're still not accepting it are you?" asked Djall, "Very well, look at it this way. Though you are very right to want compensation for the lives of your parents and friends, think of it this way. Would your mother, father or Shooter want you to get revenge? They died for you Kanaahn, your parents died to protect you so you could live on. And Shooter died for all of us, so that you all could live on and save the world from Tenebrae and his dark forces. Besides Kanaahn, you can barely last against one of the Kothar, let alone two. You're not strong enough yet. You need to get stronger, and then you can take the Kothar down, but not for reasons of revenge, but because it must be done, to purge the world of Tenebrae's dark magic."

Kanaahn sighed, "I guess you're right Djall," he said quietly, "I'll apologize to Kyeit, and I'll wait until I'm stronger to fight the Kothar." Djall smiled as he slinked ashore, walking out of the water, the water dripping from his scaly body, glistening in the sunbeams. "Good," said Djall, "I'm not just doing this because I find your trivial fight pointless. I'm doing this for you, and for Kyeit, and for everyone else in the group. The group can't function if even two of us refuse to cooperate. And it'd probably kill you to find and hunt down the Kothar before you're ready—let alone if you went out there by yourself—and…I also see how much you care for Kyeit, and it'd be a shame to let those feelings die because of this." This took Kanaahn aback, he recovered quickly though, smiling as he and Djall walked towards Fyete so they could unhook his harness and remove the wagons and horses from the raft. "I thought you said dragons couldn't feel love?" he asked cheekily. Djall laughed, "We can't." chuckled the dragon, shaking his entire body dry as he detached Fyete's harness, "I never said I felt love myself, however I _did_ feel the love you and Kyeit and shared. And I figured, just because I can't feel love, doesn't mean you should be deprived of it either." Kanaahn smiled, the first time he had in days, as he attached his horse to his wagon and rode the wagon off the raft, "Thanks Djall," he said patting the dragon on his side as he rode past him, "You really are a great friend you know?" Djall laughed as he walked neck and neck with Kanaahn's wagon, "I know," he said, "it's as you say, I do what I can."


	12. Chapter 10: A Night At The Gates

Chapter 10: A Night At The Gates

Kanaahn sat outside in the cold, a blanket was wrapped around his shoulders and his sword lay next to him on the fresh green grass. The wagons were pulled up around him forming a loose triangle, and the horses lay resting in the grass just outside of the triangle in plain view of Kanaahn. A fire burned through the darkness, its flickering orange light giving Kanaahn the feeling of company and gave him added warmth. Kanaahn stretched out his hands to warm them by the fire, and pulled the blanket around him tighter with a shiver. It was his watch tonight, and he was three hours in. From the position of the moon, Kanaahn figured it was about midnight. The group had spent the last three days travelling through an open field of rolling grasslands on their road to Ethon and they had finally reached the city by sunset. Unfortunately they arrived after the city gates had shut for the night, and like the hundreds of other people who arrived late, were forced to camp out in the fields surrounding the main road. Kanaahn sighed, he didn't mind watch duty, but watch duty without the dragons was no fun to Kanaahn, because it meant he spent hours alone and awake without anyone to talk to. The dragons were somewhere on the other side of the city, towards the back gate where no one else was so they wouldn't be seen. Kanaahn sighed again and poked the fire with a nearby stick, letting air into the embers and causing it to spark and grow. As Kanaahn placed down the stick he looked over at his wagon, and he knew in the back lay a sleeping Kyeit, and Kanaahn's stomach did a back flip.

Kanaahn still hadn't taken Djall's advice and apologized to Kyeit, meaning she was still ignoring him. The truth was, Kanaahn _wanted_ to apologize to Kyeit, but he either never got a chance to be alone with her before Cecil or Arial interrupted them, or he was always too afraid that Kyeit would reject him when he did get alone time with her. Sighing again, Kanaahn stood up and brushed off his pants of dirt. 'I need to do this,' thought Kanaahn, 'If I don't me and Kyeit will loose what we have together. All right Kanaahn, time to grow a pair and win Kyeit back.' Kanaahn took a reluctant step, and then another one, and another until he was walking full speed towards the wagon. As he stopped behind the back of his wagon, he looked at Kyeit's sleeping figure and felt his stomach flutter with nerves. And after a brief bit of nervous debating in his head, Kanaahn tapped Kyeit on the shoulder, attempting to wake her. "Kyeit," whispered Kanaahn, "Kyeit, please wake up. It' me, Kanaahn." As Kanaahn shook her gently, Kyeit's eyes opened and she woke. "What is it Kanaahn?" she asked quietly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and forgetting that she was still mad at Kanaahn.

Kanaahn put his finger to his lips and shushed her, then motioned with his hands to have her follow him. Quietly she slid from her bedroll and snuck past Cecil and out the back of the wagon. As she hit the grass ground of the open fields in which the wagons were camped, she looked around for signs of Kanaahn. Sure enough, she saw him running up a nearby hill, and Kyeit quickly followed. Kyeit soon reached the top of the hill, and found Kanaahn standing under the young willow tree that was perched on top of it. Yawning, Kyeit asked, "What now, Kanaahn?" Kanaahn—his back to Kyeit—sighed, and turned to face her, "I'm sorry," he said, "I'm sorry for being a stubborn idiot these past few days…I've really missed you." Kyeit was taken aback at first, shocked that Kanaahn was apologizing, "This wasn't your idea was it?" asked Kyeit. Kanaahn sighed and turned around again, "No, but it doesn't mean I'm not being sincere." He said, "I mean every word of it. I _am_ sorry, and I _do_ miss you…I just needed a good nudge in the right direction to be able to admit it." There was a long pause, in which neither Kanaahn nor Kyeit looked at each other, Kanaahn was almost afraid that she would turn him down and this would be the end of their relationship. Finally, Kyeit spoke, and to Kanaahn's surprise, smiled. "Well…I _have_ missed you too, and I suppose it doesn't matter too terribly that you had to be forced to say it…as long as you mean it. Besides I know how stubborn you can be." Kanaahn smiled and turned back to Kyeit, gently placing his hands on her shoulders, "So…" he said, hoping she would continue. Kyeit smiled, "So..." she repeated with a smile, "I suppose your forgiven. But you better not go acting stupid like that again, or I swear I will never talk to you again."

"I promise." Said Kanaahn gently as he hugged her, and Kyeit hugged him back tightly. Kanaahn felt guilty at that moment, he had just lied to Kyeit. He promised her that he wouldn't go after the Kothar anymore, or so he said. Kanaahn still had every intention of tracking down and killing the Kothar, but at least now he would wait until he was stronger as Djall had suggested. Kanaahn wasn't about to tell Kyeit that though, because he knew if she found out, she would kill him. The two of them slowly pulled away from the hug, but remained with their arms around each other, "Kanaahn…" said Kyeit quietly. To which Kanaahn replied, "Yes?" There was a pause however, as if Kyeit was planning on telling him something, or asking him something. But was mulling it over in her head, deciding whether it was a good or bad idea to do. Finally Kyeit answered after several minutes of thought, "I love you." She said quietly, laying her head against Kanaahn's chest. Kanaahn smiled and kissed the top of her head, "I love you too, Kyeit."

Kanaahn woke in the morning, he had slept so soundly that he didn't remember much of last night after he and Kyeit returned from the hill. Except that he had fallen asleep with Kyeit in his arms and they were lying against the wheel of one of the wagons. Kanaahn looked over at his arms, and saw, sure enough, Kyeit was there, wrapped tightly in his arms, her head lying against his chest. Kyeit soon woke up as well, and Kanaahn released her from his arms, letting her get up and walk towards his wagon, where she was supposed to be sleeping with Cecil and Arial the night before. Kanaahn stretched and yawned then looked up at the sky, it looked about 9, 9:30 at the latest and as Kanaahn's eyes scanned the surrounding plains and main road towards the city, he saw that people were already packing up camp and lining up at the city gates to get in. Kanaahn turned towards the fire; it was out, not even smoldering embers remained, it was all burnt-out ash. Kanaahn walked around the camp, banging the iron hilt of his sword against the edge of each wagon, waking up whoever was in them, "Get up!" he shouted, "We have to get in line and get to the gates before the line gets too long! If we don't get a good spot in line we'll be stuck here another night!" It took about 20 minutes for everyone to get up and get him or herself ready to move it out. After another 10 minutes up packing up camp and hitching up the horses, the group rode the wagons down towards the main road, and got in line behind a group of hay farmers. There they sat for the next few hours, moving a few feet every 10 minutes or so. Stuck behind five open-top wagons that were filled with 6 foot tall mountains of hay, each of which smelled heavily of must and mould.

Kanaahn couldn't help but wish he had Djall with him; then he could easily fly over the walls of the city instead of having to wait inside. Kanaahn was suddenly jolted from his thoughts as he heard a familiar voice from the surrounding crowd. Kanaahn slapped himself lightly, he could've sworn he had just heard Shooter's voice, but no, he couldn't have. Shooter was dead, that wasn't possible. Sitting up straight in his wagon, Kanaahn scanned the crowd as he heard the voice a second time; this time his heart gave a racing jump. It was then that Kanaahn realized, part of him was hoping to actually see Shooter, part of him hadn't fully accepted that Shooter was dead, and part of him was still hoping he was alive. Scanning the crowd harder, Kanaahn's eyes widened and his stomach did a back flip as he saw a blonde head of hair, pulled back in a pony tail and draped down over heavy looking, brown overcoat. Shooter. From what Kanaahn saw, Shooter was pulling a large, heavy log—with much trouble too—and large, burly men, also pulling, surrounded him also pulling large logs behind them. Without a second thought, Kanaahn jumped from his seat and ran through the crowd, pushing and shoving between wagons, people and animals until he finally reached Shooter. Kanaahn grabbed Shooter and spun him around—taking a quick look to check that it was in fact Shooter—and pulled him into a man hug. As he pulled out he smiled at Shooter, "You're alive!" he shouted. Shooter, who was totally out of it and didn't seem to realize that it was Kanaahn at first, looked extremely confused. But as Shooter recognized Kanaahn's shirtless body, gloved forearms and long, jet-black hair, his confusion turned into rage. "What the hell do you want?" he asked coldly.

Kanaahn soon became the confused one, and stepped back a bit as he examined Shooter like he was contagious. "Shooter, it's me-" started Kanaahn, only he didn't get to finish. He was cut off as a large, round man with a shiny, bald, head and small bristly bear walked up to him and Shooter. The man was taller than Shooter and Kanaahn and he had large sweat stains down the front of his shirt. The man swung his arm around Shooter in a friendly way and asked, "This little man bugging ya Shooter?" Kanaahn had the urge to pull his sword and challenge the man to a fight, he didn't like being called "little man" even if he was shorten than this man, but kept his cool and answered simply, "I'm his friend, I wasn't bugging him." The man raised an eyebrow and looked at Shooter, who was glaring hard at Kanaahn, there was a dark and uncomfortably long pause, to which Shooter finally replied, "Yeah, he's my friend. Or at least I thought he was." The man smiled and patted Shooter on the back, "Ah! Then this mus' be Kanaahn, righ'?" he asked with a chuckle, "One o' the kid ya was travelin' with." Shooter nodded sharply, "Yeah, that's him," he said as cold as ever.

"I suppose ya wanna go back an' travel with 'im again, huh?" he asked, smiling, he was obviously happy with whatever Shooter chose to do. "I suppose," said Shooter, still glaring at Kanaahn. The man laughed but patted Shooter on the back again and then grabbed the ropes of his log and swung them over his shoulder, "Well, I can' say I won' miss ya," he said with a sigh, "But I'm happy yer going back to yer friends. Give me best to Risasi, alrigh'?" Shooter nodded and waved goodbye to the man—which Kanaahn saw he was reluctant to do—and with one final, "Goodbye, Honch," from Shooter, he and Shooter began to walk back towards their wagons. The first part of the walk was spent in silence, until Kanaahn asked, "What the hell was that back there? We're friends, why are you treating me like I stabbed you in the back?" At this, Shooter exploded. "Because you did! You all did!" he shouted. "You didn't even come to find me or Risasi!" Kanaahn felt insult at this; Shooter didn't know what he was talking about. "I didn't abandon you, we sent Valence to go find you, but she couldn't!" Kanaahn shouted back. "We assumed you were still out flying with Risasi and would catch up once you reached the town and saw what happened. Plus, we thought you were dead!" Shooter raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" he asked skeptically, "And what the hell gave you that impression?" "The Kothar -" answered Kanaahn. "You mean those demon things?" interrupted Shooter, steaming with fury. "They attacked and nearly _killed_ me, and you weren't anywhere to be seen! You left Risasi and me for the dead!" He was full on screeching now, and Kanaahn flinched back, not sure if he should be angry or not.

"Well -" he began. "Hey boy! Move your blasted wagon!" Kanaahn was interrupted yet again by an angry farmer. He realized he had left his wagon untended and quickly ran over to it, hopping in and flicking the reins to move forward. Shooter stood back, looking like he was tempted to go back to Honch, but stomped over to the wagons in the end. "Shooter! Ohmigod you're alive!" exclaimed Arial. He was instantly swarmed by Arial, Arkas, Kyeit, and Cecil as he swung into the back of Cecil's wagon. Kanaahn could see Arial fling her arms around his neck. Cecil and Kyeit beamed at him, and Arkas gave him a welcoming pat on the back. "We thought you were dead," Arial gasped. Near the front of the wagon now, Shooter shot a glare at Kanaahn. "So I've heard," he said emotionlessly. Suddenly, and like always, Arial's relief turned to wrath. She slapped him across the face. "That's for letting us believe that, stupid!" she yelled. Shooter stared her down with the most frightening look he had ever given. "I didn't deserve that," he hissed threateningly. "And I'm not in the mood." He slumped down in the corner of the wagon and made it obvious he didn't want to talk to anyone. Cecil had to rush back to control the wagon, and the others eyed him warily but didn't approach. Arial looked slightly hurt, but a look from Arkas made her close her mouth and leave Shooter alone.

Kanaahn was confused at Shooter's anger, and wanted nothing more than to explain to him all that had happened and make him understand that they _hadn't_ left him. He knew now that Shooter had indeed been attacked, and wondered what kind of injuries he had suffered. For the Kothar had thought they had killed him. They said that he had fallen from a great height, so if that was true, Risasi must have managed some kind of landing for Shooter to be alive. Risasi had to be alive as well, hiding like the other dragons. He looked back at Shooter, who was obviously angry at the others as well and blamed them all; he was giving everyone the cold shoulder. Kanaahn opened his mouth, about to call out to Shooter and explain what had happened when: "Name?" asked a dull voice. Kanaahn spun around. "Would everyone just stop interrupting me?" he snarled. He had yelled at the city guard, who raised his eyebrows and lowered his spear tip in a threatening manner. "Excuse me?" he asked authoritatively. It donned on Kanaahn that this was the guard and he flashed a smile. "Sorry," he said. "It's been a long day and -" "Name?" repeated the guard forcefully. Kanaahn was really getting tired of people talking over him but held back the rage. "Kanaahn Saatus," he grumbled. "Purpose in the city?" continued the guard, still wary. He kept a firm hold on his spear. "To gather supplies before heading out on our journey again." The guard turned towards the gatehouse and had a hushed conversation with the other guard inside, then turned back, relaxing his spear and straightening his back. "You may pass." Kanaahn was at a loss for words and his jaw dropped. Everyone else in line had received a brutal inspection and they were being waved through easily. But not wanting to linger in line he flicked the reigns and came into the city of Ethon. "We're finally here!" exclaimed Arial, poking her head out of another wagon. Despite Kanaahn's worsening mood at the recent events he had to smile. She was right, they had finally reached Ethon, and the thought was surprisingly uplifting. Here it seemed they could forget their worries for a while, and relax before the next stage of their journey. Or so they thought.


	13. Chapter 11: The Inner City

Chapter 11: The Inner City

Kanaahn looked around at the city in awe. It was so big! Even bigger than Ottogard, the city stretched out far like an ocean. It wasn't even like Ottogard or Xiar were however, the buildings of the city rose and fell like waves. Contorting to the natural shape of the planes that the city once used to be. The buildings were built similar to the ones in Romontya, and the streets were cobblestone as well, all of the major and minor roads linked together to form a cobweb pattern when looked at from above, and Kanaahn could tell by the shape of the city that all of the roads led from the outermost edges of the city towards the center. Kanaahn followed the road with his eyes and gasped, at the center of the city, instead of a town square, was a large, flat-topped mountain, with a winding road that spun around it in circles. And sitting on top of the flat-topped mountain, was a large, rectangular palace, with beige brick walls, a red terra cotta roof and several towers that sprouted from it's corners and stretched towards the sky, all connecting in the center to a large—and noticeably larger—tower. There were few windows on the towers, but many windows were evenly spaced out along the main part of the building. Kanaahn gave a whistle of satisfaction, "Look at that palace," he said to Arkas, pointing his thumb over at castle, "Whoever lives there must have the good life." Arkas nodded silently in reply, he was too busy scanning the overly crowded streets for a place to stay to answer Kanaahn with his voice. "Kanaahn," said Arkas finally, "These streets are too crowded to drive the wagons, we'll be found too easy. We should drop these off at a nearby stable and find a place to stay, preferably somewhere off the beaten trail."

Kanaahn nodded and scanned the streets; he noticed a sign labeled "Public Stables" which pointed to a side street just ahead. The group noticed the sign was well, and after 20 minutes, they had parked their wagons and horses in their own stalls, strapped on their weapons, paid the stable boy and were back out on the streets. Arial leaned against her staff and looked at Kanaahn, "We should find someplace to stay until we can find the Dragon Master." At this, Arkas responded, "But, can't Kyeit and Cecil tell us where the Dragon Master is?" he asked. Kanaahn hit his forehead with his palm, how could he have not thought of this before, Kyeit and Cecil were _both_ Dragon Masters themselves, they could tell the group where to find this one. Kanaahn wheeled around but to his surprise, found empty places where Kyeit and Cecil had just been. "Where'd they go?" asked Arial, scanning the surrounding crowd in hopes to find the girls in the small chance they had been swept off by the massive crowd of market goers. Kanaahn felt a wrenching in his stomach, Kyeit was gone, she wasn't there and he didn't know where she was. Was she hurt? Was she okay? Was she kidnapped? No…no she had to be fine, Kyeit was strong, she was a Dragon Master, she wasn't helpless. Kyeit was probably fine, and just went off on a totally random and unannounced whim to do something…and took Cecil with her too…yeah, that was it.

Kanaahn didn't have much time to continue thinking about this, as a hand grabbed him around his elbow and dragged him off through a door. When Kanaahn finally did snap out of his thoughts, he realized that it was Arial who had dragged him by the elbow, and the door she had dragged him through was the door to a somewhat crowded, but well lit bar. The floor was made of dirt and covered in straw and remnants off food that had not been swept away by the barkeep. Flocks of people swooped low over their tables, discussing different affairs in combinations of loud and soft voices. Arial continued to drag Kanaahn through the bar, all the way towards the back, where they—as well as Shooter and Arkas—sat themselves a perfect sized table in a back corner, away from the main crowd of patrons. As they sat themselves around the table, a tall swooping man with a thick, curved mustache, a long flowing beard and spectacles which sat on the bridge of a large hooked—and possibly once broken—nose. As the man rounded on the table he spoke, "What can I get for you?" asked the barkeep. Arial took the orders, "Four ales please," she said. The barman nodded and lumbered off towards the bar to fill other orders and get their ales. The group waited in silence, none of them felt much like talking at the moment. Shooter was too mad at everyone to even think about talking to them, Kanaahn was too busy worrying about Kyeit, Arkas—who no doubt was equally as worried about Cecil—was a naturally quiet guy, which when combined with his worry, made him as silent as a stone statue. The only one who seemed to want to talk was Arial, but after a rude hand gesture from Shooter, she quieted herself and had resigned to sighing loudly every few minutes just to break the tension, to no avail. Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched laugh followed by several squeals ran through their ears.

Instantly, everyone looked up to see where it came from, and it wasn't long before they had noticed, it was a group of excited and young looking girls conversing in the opposite corner several feet away. It appeared as if they wished to converse quietly and undisturbed, as they had chosen a location similar to Kanaahn and the group's, however due to the tone of their voices and the volume of it, it seemed as though the attempt was a failed one. Without much else to listen to, Kanaahn figured it would be okay for him to eavesdrop just a bit. Besides, it wasn't like everyone else couldn't hear these girls anyway. They were louder than most of the full-grown men at the bar and many of them were already drunk beyond belief. So, with his mind made up, Kanaahn zoned out of what was happening at the table and focused his hearing on the table behind him. "—Rumors that _the_ Dragon Warriors are here in Ethon!" squealed one girl girlishly. "Really?" asked the others with great interest. Kanaahn's stomach did a back flip; these girls knew they were here? That must mean others knew they were there too…who sold them out? Was it Rort? Had they been spotted at the lake? Or maybe someone saw during that night in Romontya? Either way, Kanaahn had no reason to panic yet, the girls didn't seem scared, or vehement towards the knowledge that the Dragon Warriors were in Ethon Province, in fact they seemed downright happy and celebratory. Infatuated almost. Kanaahn sank lower in his chair and strained his hearing further for more snippets of the conversation.

"Yes really!" replied one of the girls smiling widely, "Finally! We have some good-looking heroes! And the boys are our age!" The girls let out a collective squeal; "Do you think we'll get to meet them?" asked one of the girls, a blonde with a flowing blue dress. "I'm not sure! But I hope we do! There's so many things I want to ask them!" said the girl who had brought up the topic; she was a brunette with silver-white streaks through her hair and piercing green eyes, she wore a maroon dress. "If I were to meet even just _one_, I'd say it'd have to be the shirtless boy, the one with the long hair, and the muscles, and the nice tan…" This time it was a red haired girl who spoke; she had several freckles, but was just as good looking as the other girls. She had grey colored eyes and wore a blue dress similar to her friend's. The girls all swooned and sighed dreamily as they imagined the "shirtless warrior with the large muscles and the nice tan." Kanaahn smiled widely, he knew they were talking about him, and he wondered what they'd do if they had noticed him and the others, would they flock him? Would they faint from the sight of him? Would they create a fan club? The possibilities amazed Kanaahn.

"Well, personally, I'd love to meet that skinny one, with the overcoat? The red dragon rider…" said a small, pale, black haired girl shyly, her black eyes timidly looking at her friends, she wore a grey, somewhat tattered looking dress. "Oh yeah…" replied the redhead, "Archer was his name?" "Shooter." Said the black haired girl firmly, "His name is Shooter. And I happen to think he looks amazing…" Something in Kanaahn's stomach gave a twinge at the name Shooter. Then a shot struck him, what if he told Shooter about this? Sure it didn't show how much Kanaahn cared about Shooter—and Kanaahn had no doubt that he considered Shooter a brother—but it showed that even the poorest person in a small province that Shooter had never even travelled to cared about him, and even admired him deeply. And you know, if Kanaahn threw an apology on that and Shooter should forgive him for any previous wrongs. Kanaahn sat up in his chair, ready to tell Shooter what he just heard, when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Standing up quickly and turning around, Kanaahn found himself staring down at Cecil—whom he had just noticed stood only shoulder height to himself. "Cecil? Where have you been? Where's Kyeit? Are you okay? Is she okay?" Kanaahn couldn't help it; he broke and had let the questions and worry pour out at once. He was silenced, however, as Cecil raised a hand to shush him, "Follow me," she said, "You've been summoned." The others stood up and followed Cecil—who was already half way out the door. As the group pushed and shoved through the crowd to keep up with Cecil, they finally managed to catch up with her at a main intersection, and Kanaahn asked, "Where the hell are you taking us?"

Cecil simply shook her head and kept waking, and it wasn't until the next crossroads did she answers. "The Dragon Master of course," she said in a disconnected way, "He's summoned you and the others." "And Kyiet?" asked Kanaahn anxiously. Cecil smiled and continued to walk down the long, cobbled road, down towards the palace in the middle of the city. "She's with the Dragon Master, that's where we disappeared off to." She answered, still disconnected, and as late on the answer as ever, "I was sent to fetch you, Kyeit's probably already got the wagons." Kanaahn sighed with relief, but his stomach re-knotted itself as he realized something, something that made him stop dead in his tracks. "What about the dragons?" he asked, "Where are they? They need to be with us to meet the Dragon Master don't they?" Cecil sighed loftily as she neared the castle gates, "Silly, silly boy," she said smiling, "How does Kyeit manage with you? Don't worry, the dragons have been fetched, they are waiting for you with Kyeit and the Dragon Master." Kanaahn sighed again, now that he knew Kyeit and the dragons were safe, he could finally relax and think about meeting the Dragon Master. Cecil came to a halt outside the castle gates, and Kanaahn glanced over at Arial and Arkas—Shooter was too busy ignoring them—with a look of excitement and confoundedness.

Kanaahn didn't know how it hadn't dawned on him before, the Dragon Master _had_ to have lived in the palace! That would explain the size of the palace, the size of the tower in the center, and it also made sense because the castle would be the perfect place to hide a wanted Dragon and an equally at large Dragon Master, what with the Kothar and Tenebrae's armies on the loose. As the group passed through the gate, Cecil stopped, she turned back towards Kanaahn and the others and smiled, "This is where I leave you," she said, "But do not fear. Just follow the path to the main doors, enter through them, and walk straight down the entrance hall. There will be a second set of ebony doors, through there Kyeit, the dragons and I shall be waiting for you with the Dragon Master." And before they could ask her any questions, Cecil disappeared in a flash of smoke and a crack of light, and Kanaahn, Arkas, Arial and Shooter were alone once again. "Well," said Kanaahn awkwardly, but still at the same time, excitedly, "Let's get going shall we?" With that, Kanaahn took his first step, the first step on his path to fighting Tenebrae, the first step towards the future and the first step towards becoming a fully trained Dragon Warrior.


	14. Chapter 12: King Leon Austrica

Chapter 12: King Leon Austrica

Kanaahn and the others walked up the winding road that spun itself around the mountain on which the Palace of Ethon rested. The walk up was quite silent and awkward, not to mention confusing, as Kanaahn's head filled with millions of questions. Why had Kyeit and Cecil abandoned them? Where were they now? Were they going to stop travelling with him and the others now? How were they going to get inside the castle now that they made it through the gate? Were the dragons going to be informed of this? At that last thought, a question suddenly found its way into his head, and without a second thought popped from his mouth. "Where's Risasi?" asked Kanaahn. Everyone turned and looked at Kanaahn, completely thrown off as he broke the silence that had fallen over the confused group. There was short pause, in which Shooter took the time to debate whether or not he'd answer. When Shooter finally agreed to answer he said, not turning back to face Kanaahn, "He's flying above the city somewhere. The bandits and I agreed that even in a country where dragons are revered, it wouldn't be wise to show off Risasi, I was supposed to be dead remember?" Shooter put a poisonous emphasis on the last few words, emphasizing his rage at Kanaahn, then added, "Besides, who knows who's a spy these days or not. If we get spotted it could—" "—mean disaster, yeah." Finished Kanaahn. There was a cold silence that started to grasp the group now, it was clear Shooter was mad at Kanaahn, and now Kanaahn was starting to make clear that he wasn't going to take it. His anger was bubbling to an equal height, and not all of it had to do with Shooter. He was also mad at the Kothar, they lied to him to get him riled, to deject him and to take away his spirit, hoping their little mind game would work on him. And it did. Kanaahn had been stupid, and foolish, and he let them get into his head, and because of it he now looked like a weak and easy target for the Kothar.

And that meant Kanaahn wasn't just mad at them and Shooter either, he was mad at himself. Mad that he had let himself be fooled. 'I don't care what I promised Kyeit,' he thought to himself, 'I love her, but I have my dignity as well. I'm not going to remain the fool. If I meet the Kothar again, I _will_ kill them, and Kyeit wont have to know. Not until after anyway. I'm not going to let them play for a fool anymore." Suddenly there was loud screech and some whooping sounds and everyone looked up from the ground to see three snow monkeys—all of which were as pure white as untouched snow—with tall, red, conical hats with a flat top on their heads and red scarves around their necks. The monkey on the far left was holding a mouth organ—which Kanaahn was sure was called Shō. The one on the far left was holding a pair of cymbals, and the one in the middle was holding a flute, decorated with a small flower blossom at the very end. Arial smiled and bent down so she was eye level with the monkeys, "Awww, they're so cute," she said as she tickled the one in the middle under the chin, "But what are they doing here? I don't think monkeys are indigenous to Estion do you?" Kanaahn shook his head, "No, they're not. They're more prevalent in the south, the climate here is too tempermental for them. They prefer jungles and rainforests and there are many more of them to the south in Danennova province." Arial turned back to the monkey and tickled it faster smiling, "How did you get here huh? Did someone bring you here?" she asked the monkey in a childish voice. "I've never seen monkeys this color" said Arkas kneeling down and examining them, "Usually they're brown or grey…never pure white like this…I mean they could be albino…but I don't see the red coloration fo their eyes."

Shooter rolled his eyes and scoffed, "They're monkeys not a biology lesson," he muttered under his breath. Kanaahn—who had heard Shooter—shot him a glare and turned back to the monkeys, who were now jumping up and down, whooping and pointing towards the front door of the castle—which was hanging open, and surprised Kanaahn, who had just realized they reached the top of the hill. "What do they want?" asked Arial to Arkas, "You're the animal expert." Kanaahn raised and eyebrow and smirked, "I think they want us to follow them," he said, "Forgive me for interrupting. It's just, they seem to be pointing towards the door, and the fact that they ran off towards it and disappeared inside the palace may be a tip off." Arial turned back to where the monkeys had been and sure enough, Kanaahn was right, the monkeys had gone, and they were now peaking out the door, whooping louder than before, pointing down the hall—which was visible only through a small crack in the door. Arial smiled sheepishly and flushed red with embarrassment, and the whole group jogged towards the door and after the monkeys. As they entered the palace, they were faced with a long grey, stone hallway, covered from floor to ceiling in paintings. Paintings of warriors, people with swords, kings and queens, councilors, wizards, a man and woman who hung side by side, both of which looked very familiar to Kanaahn for some reason, and even—to everyone's shock and amazement—dragons. In fact, many of the pictures featured dragons, and people riding them, feeding them, sleeping next to them, fighting beside them, and one of them even pictured five people—as well as 5 different metallic dragons, and 5 different chromatic dragons—fighting a very large black dragon who seemed to be much larger than it should've been…and by the mood of the picture, a lot more powerful.

A feeling of dread seemed to grip Kanaahn as he saw this picture, and some how, he could guess what this picture was supposed to show. And as he started to recall the battle on which this picture was based, he felt like being sick, because he suddenly remembered…everyone died except for the metallic dragons. Would that be what happened to him and the others? Would they all die too? Was that their fate? Would they—but Kanaahn was cut off before he could finish that thought. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud whoop of one of the monkeys, who appeared from around a nearby corner just a few feet down the hall, and Kanaahn and the others ran towards them. They continued through the hallways, and the whole time Kanaahn kept his focus on the monkeys, too afraid that looking at another painting would worsen the unease he was already feeling. Finally, after a long time of chasing the monkeys through the hall, and passing through several hallways, which looked almost identical, they finally reached a large set of gold-embossed doors. There were dragons carved into each level of the paneled doors, and several rubies glittered from the eyes of the dragons. The monkeys gave a low whoop and pushed open the doors, there was a loud clunk as the doors swung open and hit their stoppers. And there stood Arial, Kanaahn, Shooter and Arkas, in the doorway to a large room that seemed as large as a city, with velvet carpeted floors, and then a large raised section in the center of the room. Golden pillars with marble trimming filled the place, and the ceiling—though extremely high up—had several gold and glass chandeliers handing from it. Kanaahn looked in awe as he scanned the room, it was truly, beautiful, and looked very elegant and Kanaahn could tell that the king of Ethon was a rich man.

Kanaahn was broken from his awestruck state as one of the monkeys took his hand and pulled him—which much effort—towards the center of the room. And that's where Kanaahn saw them, two large thrones, both gold, one empty, the other had a fairly tall man with long, spiky, green hair which was pulled back into a pony tail who held a small, pure white rabbit with a red crescent shape mark on it's left haunch on his lap. On either side of the man stood Kyeit and Cecil, and behind them—Kanaahn couldn't believe it—was Valence, Kinokaze, a grumpy looking Djall, a harassed looking Fyete, a rather angry Risasi, and an agitated looking Adalinda. Before Kanaahn could run up to Djall and ask what happened however, a smooth, medium deep voice called out to him. "Kanaahn Saatus? Arial Gainsborough? Arkas Nazzer? Shooter Maxim?" called the king. Each of them responded in turn, and after a long and very tense pause, the king smiled and walked down from his throne—passing the rabbit to the monkeys, who placed rabbit gently on the ground—and towards Kanaahn and the others. As the man approached, Kanaahn could see that he had a pointed face, with small green eyes that matched the color of his hair, thin lips, which seemed to be curved into a sly smile forever, and rather pale skin. The king was as tall as Kanaahn was, and just as well built. He wore a white canvas shirt and brown pants. Over his clothes he worse a large read cape with a white fur trim. His crown was small, and though it was made of gold, looked more like copper in the lighting. Over all, he seemed friendly.

As the man approached the 4 Warriors, he smiled wider, "Welcome to Ethon. I am King here, King Leon Austrica. But during your stay here, you will know me better as Dragon Master Austrica." Kanaahn didn't know why he hadn't seen it before, and suddenly felt played for a fool again, the _king_ was the Dragon Master. That would explain why all of the province's citizens supported dragons and the Dragon Warriors. It would also explain the very pro-dragon decorations throughout the palace. "However," continued King Leon, "You may call me Master, or Leon. I won't have any of this King business. I am only King to my subjects, and you are my much honored guests and pupils." Leon began to pace up and down the line that the Warriors had formed, scanning each of them as he passed, spending no more than a few seconds on each of them, except for Arial, whom he seemed to examine more closely, and lingered on for a few moments before finally moving on to Arkas. Kanaahn wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light, but he was sure he saw a furtive look and smile pass between the two of them, but dismissed it instantly as Leon came by to examine him. The two of them met eyes, and Leon paused for a second time at him, smiling as he looked into Kanaahn's eyes. Then continued to examine the rest of him, he chuckled to himself and then said to Kanaahn, "Forgive me," he said to a now confused Kanaahn, "But I just noticed, I don't know if you hear this often, but you look so much like your father. But you have your mothers eyes."

Kanaahn smiled nervously for a second, a sense of pride and dignity swelled inside of him. He was proud to be compared to his father and mother. They were heroes as far as Kanaahn was concerned; they went down fighting to the very end, fighting and dying to protect their only son. Kanaahn was proud to have such brave parents…though at the same time a bit of guilt bit at him, if it hadn't had been for him they wouldn't have died. But second voice told him he was wrong, if it weren't for the Kothar they wouldn't be dead. They would've fought anyway, but it was the Kothar that killed them. His parents were still brave either way. And with that, the pride and burning passion for revenge returned at the same time, ten fold. "Thank you," said Kanaahn as a revelation hit him, "I had no idea you knew my parents…" If Kanaahn did truly look like his father and mother, and what this man said was true, it must've meant he knew them. But then again…Leon couldn't have been that old, he looked only a few years older than Kanaahn and the others. "How did you know them?" asked Kanaahn before he could help himself. Leon simply chuckled with his kind voice, "My father knew them really, I was only a child at the time, but I remember bits and pieces about them. I mostly know them from their portraits, they hang in the entrance hall of the palace, you saw them didn't you?" Kanaahn shook his head ashamed, "Actually I didn't pay that good attention," he admitted. Leon smiled again, "No worry, you'll have plenty of chances to see them again before you leave." And with that Leon turned around, holding back only to say, "Oh, and if you wish to know more about your parents, seeing as how you know so little about them due to that very tragic incident…you're more than welcome to come see me whenever you want. I'm sure I'll be able to find many interesting things about them that you'd like to know."

Kanaahn nodded appreciatively, but didn't respond. He was touched, he really was. His parents, who he had never known in his life, who he had always wondered about, had walked these halls, left their marks upon the world, and became virtual legends, and now a complete stranger who Kanaahn had just met was willing to finally answer all of Kanaahn's questions…16 years of questions…Kanaahn smiled and turned his attention back to Leon as he sat back down on his throne. As Kanaahn's eyes followed Leon up to his throne, he noticed that where the three monkeys and rabbit had stood before, not stood a young girl with white robes, pale white skin and pure white hair, and three young boys, all of whom were almost identical, and had the same pale white hair as the girl, with the same pale skin and white robes. Leon smiled at Kanaahn and the groups puzzled expressions, "The animals that you saw here earlier were my colleagues here, four of the Tsuru family and Elder Council. I doubt you were told, but each of the Tsuru's have a special power to transform into an animal of their choosing. It is considered a right of passage in their family…however I'm not sure if they choose their animal, it may be one that best represents them within their souls. But I _am_ sure you've met their brothers, Yomi and Tachi?" Arial nodded first, with a smile, and replied, "I remember them. Yomi lent me his spell book." She said as cheerily as she looked. To Kanaahn's amazement she seemed to be blushing, Arial never blushed before when speaking, she was always an outgoing person; she was never shy to speak out in a group. Could there have possibly been something about being here in front of a great and powerful Dragon Master that changed that? Could she have finally broken under pressure? Kanaahn didn't have time to remain pensive about these things, as before he knew it, he had to zone back as the 4 Tsuru children walked towards him and the others. One by one they walked up and introduced themselves.

The first to speak was the girl, she seemed older than the boys, and was much taller, but not without reason. Even though she would've been taller anyway, she stood an extra three inches above her brothers due to her black wooden shoes, each with a single wooden stilt built into the center of the sole, so that she tottered every so often while she stood on spot. Because of her shoes, the girl stood above shoulder height to Kanaahn. The girl was very slim, had straight, jaw length, snow-white hair, which was parted, and skin as pale as milk. Her eyes were the only color on her body, they were a pure crimson red, and could've allowed her to pass as an albino, though Kanaahn was sure her eyes were natural. She wore a flowing white robe top with red trimmings, and long, spacious sleeves that covered her arms. A red sash around her waist held the robe top together, and two red puffballs that dangled from her neck accented it. She had knee short, baggy pants, which tightened around the knee and waist, giving the girl an almost inflated effect. Over her shoulder was balanced a large, red, wooden mallet, which had several white clouds painted along the rounded sides, and a golden crescent on one of it's faces. Without smiling, the girl stepped forward, "I'm Yumi Tsuru," she said with an expressionless face, "I'm 15, and a master of Earth Magic." And with that, she turned away and walked back beside Leon's throne.

The next to walk up was the boy on the right. He seemed a bit friendlier, and also a lot younger than Kanaahn. Kanaahn could recognize the boy's red scarf and hat, and like his sister, the boy had pale white skin and snow-white hair. It was short, spiky and somewhat messy. He wore what looked like earmuffs, which were yellow and had the drawing of a six-pedaled flower on them. The boy was short, almost chest height with Kanaahn, and wore a red sleeveless shirt. He had long red gloves that extended from just below his shoulder to the center of his palm. The boy's pants were similar to his sisters: white, baggy and slimmed up below his ankles so that they looked inflated. They were also held up with a red sash. In his hand he held a pair of cymbals. He smiled as he spoke, "I'm Tsuta Tsuru," he said cheerfully, "I'm 13, same with my brothers, we're triplets by the way! Did I mention that? Anyway, also like my brothers, I'm a master of Plant Magic. Oh! And I'm deaf, but I can read lips, so you don't need to worry!" The boy, Tsuta, stepped back a bit, but remained up front, as his brother—the one who stood in the middle—walked forward. He was holding the sho in his hand, and had the exact same physical looks as Tsuta. Their hair, hats, scarves and skin were all the same. The only different was their clothes and eyes. While Tstuta's eyes were extremely dark brown, his brother's were a yellow color, similar to that of a cat. The boy smiled with a jokester like look in his eyes, he seemed like the most curious and adventurous of the three brothers. This brother also wore, a pure white sleeveless robe top, which was cut low, revealing a small part of his chest near his sternum—the scarf covered the rest of it. He had red bands around his arms, just below his shoulders and above his ankles. This brother too wore pants in similar style to his sister and brother, but his went to the middle of his calfs, between his knees and ankles. In his mouth was a large yellow, six-pedaled flower. "This is my brother, Hasu Tsuru," said Tsuta, "We're triplets, so we're the same age. And he's also a master of plant magic—" the boy smiled and waved at them, and then closed his hand into a fist, and opened it to reveal a water lily, then closed it again and it disappeared "—he's mute…that's why I'm talking for him, if that's what youre wondering. He can read lips too though, but I still have to interpret."

After Hasu was finished his introduction, he and his brother returned to Leon's side. The final brother walked up to the group now. He was the exact same in looks as Hasu and Tstuta—with the exception of his hair, which was shoulder length, pure white (the only similarity) and had whispy, wavelike waves—and wore the same hat and scarf. The only different was his robe top, which had long sleeves, and a long apron like part that went down to his knees in the back and front, his ankle length pants, and his most obvious feature: a black strip of cloth wrapped around his head to cover his eyes. The boy did not smile like Tsuta or Hasu, but remained indifferent, and even when he spoke, his voice seemed filled with turmoil, sadness, and a little pain. "I'm Saki Tsuru," he said, "I'm 13 as well, a master of Plant Magic, and blind. I cannot read lips, as I cannot see them…however I can see just fine, and speak just as easily as I could before my accident. But enough of a blind boy's ramblings welcome to the palace. I hope you find your stay comfortable." And with that, the boy turned around, and walked back to join his siblings next to the king. With that, Leon stood up again with a smile and clapped his hands together, "Well, now that we know who we all are, I'll someone show you to your rooms. Your stuffs all been brought up here already, and your dragons will be lead down to their private stables, you may visit there once you're all comfortable and set up in your rooms. Today there will be no classes, but tomorrow morning I will expect you here ready to learn at sunrise. One last warning before you go, if you are not fleet of foot and quick to adjust and learn, you will not do well here. But do not let this discourage you, though this training will be much harder than when Master Shang trained you, there is still room for improvement and mistakes, as this is only the beginning. For now you only stand on the first step of the long stairway in which you climb. At the top step lies Tenebrae, and if you fall from there, it will hurt much more than falling from the first. Keep that in mind, all of you." Before anyone could ask questions, Leon turned around with a swish of his cape and began to talk in hushed tones with Kyeit, Cecil and the Tsuru's as several attendants started to swarm around Kanaahn and his friends, bringing them from the room and towards their own sleeping quarters. Kanaahn couldn't believe it, it all seemed like a dream. He was standing in a massive palace, training to fight the most evil being on the planet, with all his friends with him, a girlfriend, several dragons, a young but wise king, and the children of an apparently all powerful family. It was every teenager's fantasy, and Kanaahn was living it. It all seemed like a children's story, like a legend someone would make up to tell their children before bed…but no, it was real, it was the truth, and it was happening right now. 'Who knew,' thought Kanaahn with a reminiscent smile, 'That when I agreed to find that old man's cat, I'd end up becoming the savior of the world with the rest of my friends."


	15. Chapter 13: Orichalum of Brass

Chapter 13: Orichalum of Brass

Kanaahn slumped down on the bed, letting out a long sighing breath as he did. Shooter and Arkas did the same, flopping onto beds on either side of Kanaahn. The room that Leon had given them was very bright and vibrant, with white stone walls—though many were hard to see due to the very large and excessive amount of tapestries that hung over them—and two chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, dangling their crystal beads above Kanaahn's head. In the center of the wall opposite Kanaahn was a large, ornate fireplace, with ivory and ebony trim. In front of the fire on the floor sat a large bear skin rug, with its head reared and mouth open as if giving one final, silent, roar. Two chairs and a sofa were circled around the bear rug and the fire. The beds were large and wooden, carved ornately from thick oak wood and drapped in the finest silk linens, stuffed with some very soft material—which Kanaahn believed may have been sheep skin, though he wasn't entirely sure. A large window and a booth stood on the far wall, and served for the greatest flow of light into the room. Kanaahn sat up on his bed, "I wonder what the girls' room looks like," he said aloud. Arkas and Shooter shrugged, neither of them was really focused on what Kanaahn had said, as both seemed more concerned with other matters. Kanaahn stood up and walked to the door, "I'm going to go down and see Djall, anyone want to join me?" he asked. Arkas nodded and walked after Kanaahn, Shooter, however, simply turned his head and mumbled something that sounded like "Later." Kanaahn simply shrugged and walked out the door, slamming it hard as he left. From his bedroom he started to wander through the halls, trying desperately to recount the way in which he had taken to come from the entrance, to the throne room and then to his room.

For a while Kanaahn had very little luck trying to find any sort of exit for quite a while, until—by some stroke of dumb luck—he happened upon to the door to the castle grounds. Once outside, he and Arkas had no trouble finding the stables; which was located at the center of the grounds, stood a few stories tall and was mostly made of stone and wood. As Kanaahn and Arkas reached the large building and swung open the great, gilded doors they heard their dragons, they seemed to be talking to someone; someone with a deep, powerful voice. With much curiousity, Kanaahn and Arkas looked at each other then took another step forward into the stables. They heard a second voice as they did, a smooth voice—similar to Adalinda's—it was calm, mature, cool, soothing, motherly, kind, and feminine. "There must be other dragons here," said Arkas in a low whisper as he looked around the dark stable, he could see all of the dragons crowded around the far end completely oblvious to the fact Kanaahn and Arkas had just walked in. Kanaahn gave a small smirk, "I should hope their dragons," he said sarcastically, "Otherwise there are some other giant, volatile, talking creatures we should be worrying about." Arkas smiled and gave a hushed laugh, "You've got your sarcasm back." He stated happily to Kanaahn.

Kanaahn smiled as they continued to walk quietly towards the dragons, "I never lost it," said Kanaahn. "Yeah, but you haven't made a sarcastic remark since the we left Xiar." Said Arkas, "I've missed the sarcastic and mean Kanaahn." Kanaahn smiled as they stopped walking—they had reached the dragons—"Hey, I wasn't _that_ mean," he said, "And cut the sarcasm. That's _my_ act." Arkas laughed, and the dragons all turned around—Arkas and Djall were beaming at the sight of their riders. "Ah, Dragon Warriors" said the deep and powerful voice, "Welcome." Kanaahn's eyes flitted to the spaces between the dragons, scanning for who, or what, was the source of the voice. Instantly, Kanaahn saw it, a large mass of muscle wrapped in magnificent brass scales. It was unmistakably a brass dragon. His outstretched wings formed a triangular shape. And, unlike most dragons, the brass dragon's wings were attached along its body all the way to the tip of its tail. The wings were longest at the shoulder, however, and they tapered off quite wonderfully as they reached the tail. Two features instantly enamored Kanaahn: his brilliant brass scales that seemed to radiate heat with their pleasant, brassy glow. The other feature was the shape of Orichalum's head. The head was not round or oval, like that of most creatures. Instead, the head had a dramatic curved plate that extended from the dragon's eyes and cheeks, and it curved upward into two points. The brass dragon also had two sharp horns on its chin, which were very long and sharp. This was unmistakably, Orichalum of Brass. Kanaahn's mouth dropped, his world froze for a moment, and he was in shock. He couldn't believe that one of the five greatest, oldest and most powerful dragons alive was standing right before him.

Kanaahn didn't even notice Kyeit, Cecil and Arial off to the side by Adalinda, Valence and Kinokaze. Orichalum chuckled, "I can see you're surprised to see me," he said smiling. Kanaahn shook himself from shock and knelt down nobly, "Orichalum. It's an honor, truly." Was all that Kanaahn could manage to say at the time. Orichalum laughed, and the other dragons chuckled as well, "You may stand up, Kanaahn—yes I know your name, Kyeit and Cecil have told me all about you." Said Orichalum still smiling, "I've heard about your brave actions throughout your travels, and yours too Arkas Nazzer." Orichalum bowed his head, "I must thank you all, humbly. You have helped our cause more than you know while trying to get here." Arkas blushed and Kanaahn smiled bravely, "Well, I didn't really do anything…" said Arkas shyly, "It's Kanaahn who was the brave one…I mean he took on Drakhart—twice! —And he and Djall managed to kill Ölüm and send Drakhart off running. He challenged crowds of dragon haters back in Ottogard without any regard for personal safety. I mean they wanted to rip him apart. And he's always been the one who gave us the bravery to fight…well he gave me the bravery to fight."—Kanaahn blushed at this—"_And_ he took on one of the Kothar single handedly and—" Orichalum gave a booming laugh and smiled, he flicked his wings and sat down, "You have been brave as well," he said smiling benevolently, "You fought off an army of Black Dragons, when there were only you three of you and your dragons. You saved the village of Romontya from destruction along with your friends. You've fought in every battle and travelled everywhere Kanaahn has. You are just as brave—" "Braver sometimes, even!" added Kanaahn smiling and patting Arkas on the back.

Orichalum smiled, "See? Even Kanaahn believes you're brave." Arkas smiled and blushed redder, "T-thanks…" he said quietly. "The boy is shy," said the female voice from before, "He reminds me much of King Leon when he was younger." Orichalum smiled a bit wider, "That he does, Thrae, that he does." Kanaahn raised an eyebrow, about to ask who Thrae was, when he question was answered. Another brass dragon—smaller than Orichalum; around the same size as Adalinda—walked out from the shadows. Just like her voice, she looked calm, kind, maternal and caring. "Kanaahn, Arkas, I'd like you to meet Thrae." Said Orichalum, "She's my daughter and King Leon's dragon compatriot." Kanaahn bowed his head and Arkas did the same, "Nice to meet you Thrae," he said cheerfully. Thrae nodded and sat next to her father, "Likewise," she said just as happily. Djall's spoke for the first time in this conversation, "Orichalum was just telling us about the kind of training we would be going through while we're here. Everyone's head snapped back to Orichalum, "Oh, by all means continue. I'd like to know what's in store for us." Said Kanaahn as he sat down in the straw covered ground.

"Well," said Orichalum as he cleared his throat, "The dragons will be training with Thrae and I. They'll be learning about battle maneuvers. What moves to make while you're flying in a battle, how to dodge certain attacks, how to attack certain enemies, how to fight certain enemies, what to do in certain situations, how to fly faster than you fly now. They'll also be spending some days with King Leon to learn about human tradition, human language and human history and lore. As for the Warriors, you'll be spending your time with King Leon, Kyeit, Cecil and the Tsuru's. They'll be training you further in your personal weapon arts. For instance, Kanaahn will learn more about sword fighting, Arkas will learn more about archery, Arial will learn about magic and so forth. You'll all also be learning how to infuse your attacks with magic, and how to use basic magic. You'll also be learning new moves for your weapons and how to incorporate them in different situations. You'll also all be taught hand-to-hand combat. When you're not training with King Leon you will be training with Thrae and I. We will be teaching you about Dragon Lore, Draconic, and about past Dragon Warriors and their legends and history." Kanaahn felt a new surge of passion and burning desire spur up inside him, he couldn't wait to start learning all this. Just thinking about how he'd be with all these new skills learned, he started to feel like a real Dragon Warrior now. "I can't wait to start learning," said Kanaahn with a smile, "But what if I want to learn more than just basic magic? Because I would like to learn a lot more about pyromancy, and I know Arial's only weapon is magic." Orichalum smiled, nodded and waved a hand, "There will be instruction provided for you both," he said, "That will all come in time. You have several months of training to spend here, do not worry, and there will be time for everything. For now, I think it is best you go and rest up. You have a big day ahead of you, all of you." With that, everyone stood up and with formal goodnights to each other, Kanaahn, Arkas and Arial returned to the palace, while Kyeit and Cecil remained behind to discuss something with Orichalum. Kanaahn sighed as he left the stable, taking one last longing look at Kyeit. When he returned to his room he wasn't surprised to see Shooter already sleeping, or ignoring him, either way Kanaahn wasn't ready to confront him yet. And he and Arkas undressed and slipped into bed. Neither of them said much, and had no problem falling asleep in the comfortable beds, with the glow of the fire and the warmth of the flames, and the hope of a new beginning around the corner.


	16. Chapter 14: Training, The First Step

Chapter 14: Training, The First Step

Kanaahn and the others walked through the decorated halls of the Palace of Ethon, following Leon's steps closely. Suddenly the group came to a halt in the middle of a large wide hallway. It was windowless and several chandeliers hung from the ceiling, their candle stubs providing dim light. The walls were covered completely with paintings, each of them involving well built men and women and large, powerful dragons. Some were sinister looking, others kind and gentle. As the group came to a halt, Leon spoke, "This hall, is known as the Hall of Legend," he said, turning around to face the group, "It is called so, because every painting hung in this hall depicts people and dragons of legend. It also depicts certain moments of history that have become legend to both the dragons and Dragon Warriors alike." Everyone instantly looked around, scanning each of the paintings with interest; the first paintings that stood out to Kanaahn were one of a man and a woman. Kanaahn instantly recognized them as his mother and father; they were legends among the dragons. Kanaahn couldn't help but feel proud to be there son, but also felt disappointed that he hadn't lived up to their name yet. "In the two weeks that you Warriors have been here you have learned a lot about Dragon Lore and Legends, and now I have brought you to this hall to test that knowledge. I'm going to point to each of the paintings in turn, and you're going to tell me the person or event that the painting depicts, and any additional information about them that you see fit to add."

Everyone nodded meekly; Kanaahn knew that they all were a little lacking in the Lore and Legend studies. Even though they were all good at it, Kanaahn was the only one who really absorbed the lessons like a sponge, and no doubt they would all be counting on him to answer the harder questions. Leon clapped his hands together, shaking everyone from their zoned out thoughts, "Now, shall we begin?" he asked, and not waiting for a reply, continued to ask a question, "Who or what does this picture depict?" Leon pointed to a large portrait of a young looking man; he had jet-black hair mixed with strands of pale white. His hair was short and spiked up in the back but long in the front, hanging down in two separate strands on either side of his temples. He was skinny and hand a pointed face and a pointed nose, his eyes were as black as his hair and were barely visible beneath his bangs—the boy's head was tilted down. Over his shoulder he swung a thin, black iron Katana with two tassels hanging from the end of the cloth-wrapped hilt. He wore a dark coat that cut off at his knees, and whose sleeves hung down past his wrist. The coat was clasped tightly around his waist by four black buckles, it was tattered and torn in several areas and looked as if it had been through several battles. Beneath the coat Kanaahn could see a black, sleeveless shirt and black pants that were held up by a thick belt with a large buckle. The end of the canvas and the frame cut everything below the boy's knees off. Everyone else seemed to be struggling with the name, but Kanaahn knew who it was instantly, "It's Alamange Tsuru, the father of the current Tsuru elders, right?" blurted out Kanaahn. Everyone seemed relieved that Kanaahn answered the question. Leon smiled, "Very good Kanaahn, that's correct. Once the head of the Tsuru Clan, Alamange Tsuru was very involved with the Order of Daron. He, like his children, was very influential in the Order's decisions. He and his wife were great believers that the Children of Prophecy—the name Aurum gave the Dragon Warriors who would one day find the eggs in Mount Pinnacle—would be found in their children's generation."

"Now, how about that picture?" asked Leon again. This time he pointed to a picture of two very large, very strong and muscled dragons. The two dragons were distinct in two ways, they were both exactly identical—expect for the fact that they faced each other from opposite ends of the canvas—and they were each a different color. The one of the left was pure black and the one of the right was pure white. They both looked dignified and powerful, omnipotent even. They were standing on ruined remains of what looked like an ancient palace or temple that seemed to be made of white marble. The remains of the temple on which they stood seemed to be suspended in midair, the background seemed to be a cloudy sky at sunset, with orange light peaking through the clouds. It was a beautiful effect. Kanaahn, again, answered first, "Those are the Edar Dask and Edar Opsola," said Kanaahn, "The Earth Mother and Earth Father of the dragons; their gods in a sense. It's believed by dragons that the Edar Dask and Edar Opsola—both of whom are supposed to be extremely large dragons—created the world we known today during a play fight. They created craters that filled up with water to become lakes and oceans, and mountains which were mounds of dirt that were pushed up as a result of one dragon pinning the other. Afterwards they populated the Earth with dragons and then disappeared back to their world. The world known as Wer Amuul, or the void in our language, it is the world between worlds—the one that's depicted in that painting there—its said that the Edar Dask and Edar Opsola still live inside Wer Amuul, silently judging over the world from their ruined temple which perpetually hangs in the twilight sky. It's said that whenever they fight, the world is thrown out of balance and bad things happen. Like wars, evil uprisings and natural disasters."

Leon smiled again, "Very good again Kanaahn." He said, "It's also widely believed that the Edar Dask and Edar Opsola have no idea of their control over the world and what happens to it and that they are totally unaware of their great power, or that they created the Earth or dragons, or that their actions affect the world at all. The dragons believe that they are just two dragons, much like themselves, who have just a little bit more power than the rest." Leon was quick to move on to the next picture, it was obvious by now that they were in for a long day with a lot of learning packed into it. "Now, how about that painting over at the far end of the hall?" he said pointing behind them, "Yes that one right there. Can anyone tell me who that is?" The painting was of a young and beautiful woman. She stood against cloudy backgrounds, the clouds below her waist were a yellowish-orange tinge and the ones above her head a pale blue, a ray of light shone down on her from above her head. She had long black hair that went down past her waist. A thin face and curved figure, she had smooth alabaster skin and crimson eyes. She wore a white robe top with a slit on each shoulder and red trimming, the sleeves of the robe. The sleeves were slim around her arms up to her elbow, from which they extended and became large billowing sleeves. Around her neck she wore a gold necklace with large tear drop-shaped beads. From her ears hung two thing gold hoops, from each hoop, 3 golden cylinders swung. Below her waist, the woman wore a white skirt, which was covered by a red cloth that opened up in the front in a large v to reveal the white skirt. A tightly wrapped and knotted rope tied around the girl's waist held up both the cloth and dress. Both the cloth and skirt were slimmed around the thighs, but began to widen out and ruffle along the edges below her knee. The woman wasn't wearing shoes as Kanaahn had just noticed, and he had also noticed that in her left hand she was holding a sword up towards the sky, and in her other hand was a thin steel shield, it was grey with a golden ring around the outer edge. She looked like a queen, like someone from prophecy. Before even having to think about it, Kanaahn answered, "Daniae Tsuru, wife of Alamange, mother of the Tsuru Elders."

Once again, Leon nodded and smiled, "Very good," he said, "Like her husband Daniae and children, she was very much involved with the inner workings and decision making of the Order of Daron. She was also very influential on young woman of her generation, and it was her—and a few other female members—that caused a mass amount of women to flock to our secret headquarters and join our cause against Tenebrae. Since her and her husband's tenure as members, recruitment to our Order's army has increased fifty percent, and at least twenty percent of that fifty are women. Now, lets move on shall we? We have a lot of learning to do today and we can't spend too long here, I need to get you to the Tsuru's for your magic lesson today. Now, where was I—right—those pictures over there, who are those three dragons in those pictures?" Leon pointed over to the wall directly to the group's right. The first picture was of a town square, and a large crowd—well mob actually—they looked angry. Kanaahn didn't know why until he saw what they were all pointing at, a large, red, angry dragon. It was huge, much larger than a regular red dragon—or at least Kanaahn judged by its size in this portrait compared to the people in the mob below—it seemed angry, evil almot, and it was blow massive waves of fire at the city and the crowd. Kanaahn then noticed that the city was on fire, and many buildings had already burnt to the ground, dead bodies lay hanging from windows, burnt and chared, and people in the crowd were suspended in mid air as the dragon knocked them aside with his now stationary tail. Kanaahn's eyes flitted back to the dragon; it was much different from a regular dragon, and not just in size. The dragon wore a golden bracelet around the wrist of his front left foreleg, something Kanaahn had never seen before on another dragon. The dragon also had small black stripes across his neck, back and tail, and it's eyes; it's eyes shone with a yellow, evil gleam that seemed to fill Kanaahn with fear and strangely…malice.

Kanaahn looked on to the next picture, this one unnerved him a bit. It was of a large—also red—dragon. The dragon had a large and extremely, massively, muscled body. Its legs and tail alone were thicker than stone pillars, each of its claws were thick and yellow and seemed to look like they could cause earthquakes as soon as they contacted the ground. Over the muscled body was the red skin and golden underbelly, each of which seemed as thick as iron and looked like it couldn't be broken by human methods of sword or arrows. The dragon's tail and back were covered in large, thick, sharp and yellow spikes, each of which looked like they could impale 10 men at once and were about as wide as 2 men. This dragon was also very unusual, in that it had 8 heads. Each one was unique—though all had large yellow fangs and glinting purple eyes, and each of the backs of the necks were covered in long spines, and each head was very snakelike (with the exception of one of the far left of the central head, which seemed much shorter and snout like)—the most central head, the one that seemed to be in control and have the most brains, had a horn coming from the tip of its nose, and then two long antennae like horns from its head and another, much shorter, horn between the antennae. The head on the direct left of the central head had a long horn that protruded past the dragon's snout from between its eyes and curved forwards like a blade. The next head on the far left of the central head had a short horn that curved backwards from between its eyes, and then several medium sized horns around it's neck—every where except the underside of its jaw—that pointed backwards forming a spiked frill. The head on the direct right of the central head had a large upward pointing crest on its head, it was large and sail-like but was also sharp and serrated, it protruded from between its eyes and like a large sail or crest drew many peoples eyes towards it. The head on the far right of the central head had two short, inward curved horns coming from the corners of its mouth, and another large and long horn that protruded from the top of its head and pointed backwards towards its neck. The first of three heads located behind the first row of heads was located on the back left of the central head and was the only differently shaped head of them all. Its snout was shorter and the ridge over its eyes was flatter and extended further; it had no horns. The head directly behind the central head had the same head structure of the other heads and two horns behind either eye, both of the horns pointed directly behind the head and the top of the two horns on each side was longer than the one of the bottom of each side. Finally, the last head in the back row to the back right of the central head had a single horn protruding from between its eyes which also pointed forwards and curved up slightly, it was also the only of the heads to have long bat-like ears protruding from the back of its head which pointed backwards.

The third and final of the pictures unnerved Kanaahn the most. This one depicted a large—extremely large, even larger than the red dragon from before after Kanaahn compared him to the other dragons and humans in the picture—dragon; a black dragon. There were five other dragons in the picture as well, and the 6 dragons—as well as the 5 riders on each of the smaller, regular sized dragons—were all flying in the air. The regular sized dragons and their riders armed and armored. Upon closer inspection, Kanaahn realized that each of the regular sized dragons was a different color. Then, going back to the massive black dragon, Kanaahn saw that the black dragon was shooting a large blast or ray of something. It could be fire…it looked like fire, but it seemed more like energy, whatever it was, it was powerful because as Kanaahn followed the ray, he noticed that it was aiming for, and hit, one of the dragons and their riders, incinerating them to bones and dust on the spot. Kanaahn gulped then turned back to Leon, "The first picture is Jennu Ithael, the massive red dragon and leader of the Red Dragon Clan a thousand years ago. The second painting is Supri Fothisevi, the eight-headed dragon deity who turned to Tenebrae's cause a thousand years ago. And the final painting…it's the battle between Tenebrae and the first group of Dragon Warriors, the battle where Tenebrae and all the Warriors of the time lost their lives. The battle that—" Leon cut him off, "Supposedly killed Tenebrae, yes…" said Leon mystically, "The first picture is the burning of Ethon. A thousand years ago when my ancestors ruled the city, Jennu Ithael—in his first attempt to prove himself to Tenebrae—started a campaign against the country of Estion. The resident green dragons tried to fight him off, and for a long time we kept him at the borders. For almost four months he wasn't able to get past the borders of Altimara. But he soon broke through and on his march to the capital he burned everything in site. Old Romontya, the trees in his way, and when he reached the city he burned that too…even though the attack on Ethon only lasted seven hours, the city burned for three days afterwards. It was said that the great dragon's fires burned so hot that they turned the water to steam every time someone tried to douse them, so in the end we were left with no choice but to let the fires burn out by themselves. The entire city took fifteen years to rebuild…"

Leon's voice trailed off as he finished speaking, but he quickly regained composure and continued. "The next picture is of Supri Fothisevi, the eight-headed dragon deity. That was a painting done of him shortly before he turned to Tenebrae, despite his large size and power, he was never actually used by Tenebrae to fight any of his battles and was never seen until Orichalum and Aeramen killed him. They figured they would slay him before his power was put to use, it was a tough battle, it took three days to take him down." Kanaahn shivered a bit, he didn't want to encounter this dragon, and he couldn't even begin to imagine what fighting him would be like. If it took two of the five most powerful dragons in the world three days to take him down, how long would it take five teenagers and their five chromatic dragons? "The last painting on the wall," continued Leon, "Is a painting of the final battle between the Warriors, Tenebrae and the Metallic Dragons. The painting is entitled, The Fall of Eldim Rodir. He was the first blue dragon rider a thousand years ago. He fell first in the fight, but don't get him wrong, it took about four hours before someone died. Eldim was extremely powerful, and a strong Aquamens, one of the strongest of his time. He was just unlucky…and Tenebrae was just too powerful. As you can see he was much larger than a normal black dragon, in fact he was almost as big—if not a little bigger—and Aurum himself. It's unknown how he got that strong, or how even got that big, all that's known is that he was and possibly still is, as strong as ever." Kanaahn shivered again, he was now afraid of fighting Tenenbrae, he didn't want to die…but at the same time he didn't want to be afraid. It was a confusing feeling for Kanaahn, a mix of challenge, adrenaline, and fear all combined to make him feel very sick and uneasy. Perhaps seeing this in Kanaahn, or perhaps just by coincidence, Leon changed the subject and began talking again.

"Very good Kanaahn for answering everything correctly," he said smiling, "Now as I said you have a lot of learning to do today so we should get moving. But before we do I want to show you guys something. Look over there by the door we're about to go through; you see those two rows of portraits? Can you tell me who they are?" Kanaahn looked to where Leon was pointing, and sure enough, he saw two rows of five portraits. On the top row were five paintings of five different humans, all in different states of arms and armor. On the bottom were paintings of five different colored dragons, each as majestic and stoic looking as the rest. Kanaahn felt a sense of pride and dignity sweep over him as he saw the paintings. He then proceeded to examine each picture individually. The first painting on the bottom row was of a large white dragon, it stood on the top of a snow topped mountain, surrounded by clouds. It was standing up right with its hind legs on the mountains sides, and its wings were spread and soaked up the light of the morning sun. The next painting on the bottom row was of a black dragon—one of normal size finally. It stood by a riverbank and what looked like a foggy swamp, but Kanaahn couldn't tell with all the mist. Its wings were folded back against its body and were covered in small, spiny barbs at every joint. Its mouth was open as if it was roaring and it's iron like hide reflected the minimal light that passed through the fog. The painting next to the black dragon was of a large blue dragon. It looked fierce and fully-grown, and it stood at the edge of a tall cliff, presumable at the side of a mountain. It was perched proudly with its wings extended behind it, as if to show that it ruled the mountain. The painting next to it was of a green dragon, standing mystically by the edge of a river in what looked like a lush forest with moss-covered trees. It stood there; staring precariously out across what would've been the water had the painting been real. It's wings were half out stretched, ready to take flight. The final painting of the bottom row was another dragon, a red one. It was standing over a pile of gold and treasures, its tail and body wrapped around it and it's head glaring greedily to the side of the canvas. It's wings were half folded as if he was between flicking them and unfolding them.

Kanaahn then moved on to examining the top row of paintings. The first of the paintings was of a man in black armor. It was ornately decorated with gold and silver trimmings and decorative mantles. He also wore an inhuman looking mask, which resembled the head of a dragon and made the man look less human. The mask was pointed in the front like a dragons snout, and had a yellow glow about the eyeholes. Three long spines pointed back behind him, and from the back of the helmet erupted a long, furry plume of red fur that swirled around in the assumed breeze, Kanaahn guessed the plume reached the ground. In his hand the man held a long sword and although the sword was no doubt two handed and heavy, he had no trouble using it with one hand. Upon closer inspection, Kanaahn noticed that the man walked on the balls of his feet, and his armor's boots were clawed like a dragons foot. It even had the dewclaw on the back of his head. Then Kanaahn noticed that the gauntlets of the armor were also clawed, furthering the man's dragon-like appearance. Moving on to the next painting, Kanaahn saw a man standing in long white robes with ornate eye patterns on it. His snow-white hair was styled the same as Alamange Tsuru's, it was short and spiked in the back with two long strands of hair which ran down the side of his head from his temples; a single, small black horn erupted from his forehead. His eyes were sharp and yellow colored, he seemed a little deceitful at first glance. The next painting was of a woman, the only woman of the group. She had long blonde wavy hair that fell past her shoulders and down her back to her chest. She wore a green, armor half top, which seemed more like an armored bra. It covered only part of her breasts and ended just below them. She also wore what seemed like armored underwear, with a short green skirt that went half way down her thighs and opened up at the front—it was plated armor as far as Kanaahn could see. And over that she wore a longer skirt that went down to her knees and also opened up at the front. She had boots that went up to her knees as well and were made of thick leather. However the two most absorbing features of her were her bright green eyes and her high and pointed brim cape that was emerald green cape—come to think of it all her attire was green as far as Kanaahn could see—which went down to her ankles. In one hand she held a long white staff with a green jewel at the top.

The next painting was one of a man, he was dressed in long blue flowing robes and had a single pauldron on his left shoulder, the face of a lion was engraved into the metal and in it's mouth held a decorative ring. The man's eyes were a piercing blue that matched his clothing, and his hair was long and jet-black and fell down past his shoulders. Kanaahn's eyes then moved to the last painting, and a sense of déjà vu seemed to fill Kanaahn. He looked at the man and couldn't help but feel he'd seen him before. His pointed face and strong features. His strong, serious eyes that were so dark in color his pupils couldn't be seen unless you were face to face with him. His long, past-his-shoulders-hair; black in color and. styled exactly like Kanaahn's. Even his light colored—almost pale—skin seemed familiar. The man stood proudly and dignified, his sword over his shoulder with pride. He wore a long ruby red cloak over his clothes, with a red hood pulled up over his head. His clothes composed of ruby red and slightly baggy pants, over which he wore greaves and armored boots. He wore a ornately designed breastplate over a red shirt and on his right hand he wore a bracer gauntlet; the gauntlet of which had clawed fingers that seemed sharp enough to rip through anything. For once Kanaahn was stumped, he couldn't figure out who any of these people were. Leon seemed to read his mind and laughed, "I don't expect you to know who these people are," he said, "I was hoping you didn't know actually, that way I could tell you. The people and dragons you see were the first Dragon Warriors, the ones who fought against and died at the hands of Tenebrae. The man in white is Tolrem Tsuru, the first of the long line of Tsuru's. He was the rider of the white dragon Beylyn—and if you notice all of the riders are wearing the colors of their dragons. It's customary to do once you are deemed fully trained—the next man, the one in black dragon-like armor, is Zhevor Vessan, the rider of the black dragon, Kwe. Next is the woman in the green cape, she was the first green dragon rider, Sei'ophmei Dynia. She rode the green dragon, Unaedrol. The next man, the man in blue, is Eldim Rodir, rider of the blue dragon Lo'ind. And finally, the man in red, he's Nayondel Darond, he rode the red dragon, Veryll. The Order of Daron is actually named after him, but due to an accidental misspelling, me missed the final d in his name. Though ironically, Daron is also the draconic word for knight. So it worked out in the end. Now, we should move on to your magic lessons, we're far behind schedule and you're going to be late."

With a swish of his cape, Leon turned around and exited the hallway through the heavy oak doors into the room next door. Arial walked up beside Kanaahn as they followed, "Sei'ophmei looks familiar…" she said quietly. Kanaahn nodded and whispered back, "Yeah…so does Nayondel." As soon as they walked through the door they came face to face with the Tsuru triplets and their sister, Yumi. Tsuta smiled as he saw them and waved to a small table at the other end of the room. Pillows were lined up around the table for people to sit on. A steaming, porcelain teapot filled with what Kanaahn presumed was fresh tea. Several cups were placed at each seat at the table. The group filed around the table and sat on their pillows with their legs crossed. Yumi and the triplets then poured and handed out tea to everyone and after a few sips and some silence, Yumi spoke. "My brothers and I are going to teach you and ancient magical art. It was a technique developed by my ancestor, Tolrem Tsuru and has been passed down through our family for generations." She said as she sipped her tea, her red eyes glinting in the candlelight of the candelabras that lined the stone room. Arial looked up in interest, anything to do with magic she was interested in. Especially the magic of the Tsuru's, which was unique—or at least that's what she told Kanaahn while reading through Yomi's book of spells.

Everyone leaned in closer as Saki picked up where Yumi left off, "We're going to teach you the magical art of therianthropy." He said calmly. Everyone looked around confused; they had no idea what therianthropy was. It sounded more like a type of medicine then it did a magical art. Saki—though blind—noted the silence and seemed to sense people's confusion, "Transformation," he said, to which everyone responded with understanding, "Specifically the transformation process by which one turns into an animal famliar through means of magic. In other words, we're going to teach you all how to turn into animals." Kanaahn could feel a smile spread across his face, he couldn't wait to try that out, no doubt it would come in handy often. Especially for escaping from enemies and sneaking into cities. As everyone finished their tea, Yumi and the triplets stood up and walked the group to the center of the room where a large cleared space was set up for them. "Now," started Yumi, "The first thing I want you all to do is concentrate; deeply and thoroughly. Think of an animal that best represents you; if you can't think of a specific animal you can think of a species of animal or a specific trait you think defines you. Either way the magic will run its course properly—or at least it should if you do it properly. Now, everybody focus. Don't let any other thought enter your mind." Kanaahn immediately began to think, what animal represented him? He didn't know…maybe a species? But no, he didn't even have an animal in mind. How could he think of a species if he didn't even have an animal in mind? He could choose an animal he liked best, but that wouldn't neccisarily work, not if the animal didn't represent him. Kanaahn finally settled on picking a trait, and the first thing that came to mind for him was bravery. Sure, Kanaahn was brave. He never knew what it was like to run away because he was afraid, mostly because he'd never walked away from a tough situation in his life…that would certainly explain all his injuries. Kanaahn's mind instantly snapped back to bravery. He needed to focus. He thought of his bravery, he though of the reasons why he was brave. He thought of all the instances where his bravery had shone through.

Kanaahn could hear Yumi's voice through his concentration, "Good," she said, "I can tell you're all focused. Now, while focusing, channel your magic. Let the magic run through your body. It doesn't matter where, just let it flow." There was a pause, in this time Kanaahn let the magic in his body flow through him, circulating and flowing like a river. "Good, very good!" said Tsuta encouragingly, "Now, everyone open your eyes! Go look in the mirror you've done it!" Kanaahn's eyes shot open, as she scanned the room he noticed he was a foot or two shorter than he was before, but he didn't feel any different. Kanaahn walked over to the mirror, he felt four feet touching the ground. Kanaahn broke into a mini run and came to a halt at the mirror. His mouth dropped a bit as he saw his reflection. Where Kanaahn was standing, the mirror reflected back a fully-grown and mighty, male lion. With a thick black mane, a powerfully muscled body, sharp fangs and his own extremely dark brown eyes. Kanaahn made for a pretty good-looking lion. Kanaahn turned around to see the others animal forms. He saw a large, pure black Harris Hawk where Arkas once stood. The hawk had Arkas's eyes and its legs were wrapped with gauze just like Arkas's forearms were. Where Shooter stood there was a tall, very skinny and shaggy looking dog, a Staghound by the looks of it. Kanaahn couldn't help but smile inside; the Staghound was perfect for Shooter. A shaggy, skinny and fairly tall dog, Shooter had pegged himself to a T. Kanaahn then looked to Arial, he was surprised to see a large black bear, no doubt a mother bear. Kanaahn smiled again, this was also a perfect match. Arial could be like a mother bear sometimes; she was certainly strong and temperamental enough, and she was damn right protective of her friends as if they were her own children.

Arkas flapped his way over to Kanaahn and Arial came over to see him too. The two of them circled around the new lion Kanaahn with smiles on their faces. "Nicely done Kanaahn," said Arkas, "That'll definitely scare away any of Tenebrae's soldiers." Kanaahn laughed, "Not bad yourself Arkas, and you too Arial," he said proudly, "Your hawk can come in handy and Arial will be good for brute strength around here." Kanaahn felt a small pang in his stomach as he realized Shooter wasn't talking to him, but quickly ignored it as Arial chuckled. "Kanaahn a lion," she said examining him, "We'll he always had the hair for it. Now, one last thing, give us a roar will you?" Kanaahn laughed, "I couldn't," he said, "I don't know how yet." Yumi gave what looked like a smile though Kanaahn couldn't be sure; he had never seen her smile before. "It's not hard, just inhale deeply, then let it all out in a roar. Use emotion, put your heart into it." She said encouragingly. Kanaahn gave a weak smile, then inhaled. He was a little nervous but still confident inside, and then, in a surge of emotion, let out a loud and fierce roar. The walls shook, as did the candelabras. As Kanaahn finished, everyone cheered and clapped, all except Shooter, who simply ignored the roar and lay on the ground, his head on his paws. Kanaahn subsided the roar as he saw Shooter—he felt bad about not talking to him anymore—and turned back into a human—as did everyone else. Tsuta smiled and clapped, "Well done everyone," he said, "Now, we'll keep working on that for the rest of the day shall we? The point is to train you to the point where you can transform whenever at will. It should be instant and you should be able to do it while running, fighting, whenever needed. But for your first try, concentration is key, and it will be key for the next few weeks until you get the hang of this. Now, shall we try that again?" And that is how the rest of the day went on. They practiced transforming, and each time was given a time limit in which to transform. Shooter still ignored Kanaahn, and everyone had a chance practicing how to act like his or her animal familiars. The whole time Kanaahn kept braced and dignified on the outside, roaring whenever someone asked him to and pretending like nothing was wrong. But on the inside he felt hurt and guilty and also mad. All of these feelings directed to Shooter. Kanaahn was hurt that Shooter wasn't talking to him, guilty because he knew it was his fault, and mad because Shooter was being so immature and childish. Kanaahn could only hope that thing would get better soon; he didn't know how he was going to face Tenebrae with a member of his team not talking to him.


	17. Chapter 15: The Truth of the Tsuru Clan

Chapter 15: The Legend and Truth of the Tsuru Family

A loud metal on metal clang filled Kanaahn's ears as his sword struck another. Sweat ran down his back and brow as he forced against the strength of his opponent. Kanaahn's sword slid left and he lost his footing; trying to keep his balance and his upper hand in the fight, Kanaahn jumped high in the air and twirled over the enemy, landing behind him with a massive swing of his sword. But his opponent was too fast for him, blocking his attack with a simple spin and a lift of his blade. Kanaahn's gritted his teeth, and stared hard into the eyeless, faceless, suit of armor that he faced. Kanaahn had bewitched some suits of armor for fighting practice on his spare time, he had managed to take down the first three, but the fourth was becoming increasingly difficult. The fight was getting harder still, as Kanaahn's strength and energy dwindled as his fatigue grew. His ability to cast magic spells had all but left him as he tired continuously, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. Kanaahn quickly jumped back and raised his sword, he was prepared to rush the suit of armor and take it down that way. Kanaahn let out a loud yell of faith and got ready to charge, when a slam at the door made him mess up. Kanaahn, instead of releasing a barrage attack, ducked to the left to see who was at the door, and let the armor crash into the wall and fall unconscious. Kanaahn's heart sank as he saw who was standing by the door; it was Kyeit. Her arms were crossed and she looked mad, and Kanaahn knew why. "You lied to me." Said Kyeit crossly, "You told me you were going to give up your ridiculous idea of hunting down the Kothar and avenging your parents. You lied to me." Tears started to fill Kyeits eyes, but she blinked and held them back, pure vehemence seamed to replace them. "I-I was only-" Kanaahn stammered clumsily, trying to find the right words.

"You what?" she asked, "I go away for a few days for business with the Daron and I come looking for you and where do they tell me to look for you? Here! In a room! All alone, fighting with suits of armor!" Kanaahn walked towards Kyeit cautiously, "How do you know I'm practicing sword fighting for—" Kyeit cut him off again, "Please Kanaahn it doesn't take an idiot to figure out why you're fighting multiple enemies instead of asking someone else to practice with you." She replied darkly. Kanaahn reacted quickly, in the only way he knew, "What about you?" he said defensively, "You promised we'd spend time together even though you'd be busy with work, and I haven't seen you once. We haven't spent a minute together." Kyeit reared back, but responded quickly, "I've been busy!" she protested, "What did you expect?" "I expected to see you more!" he shouted back. "Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my life is dedicated to the Daron!" she yelled at him. Kanaahn rolled his eyes, "Oh yes, because making decisions on how to cart around me and my friends throughout the entire freaking continent is _so_ much more important and actually fighting the epitomy of freaking evil!" "If this is how you plan on treating your responsibility I'm afraid you're shaping up to be a pretty poor hero!" retored Kyeit. "Oh yeah? And if this is how you're going to treat me, then I'm afraid _your_ shaping up to be a pretty bad girlfriend!" Kyeit had had enough, she raised her hand and punched Kanaahn hard across the face and ran from the room slamming the door behind her and shouting, "Jerk!"

Kanaahn gripped his sword tighter and his face stung. As he heard Kyeit disappear down the hall, he turned—his face contorted in rage—and with a quick slash of his sword and a fast metallic slice, he sliced clean through the mid section of the suit of armor he was fighting before. Kanaahn let out a roar of anger as the suit hit the ground, lifeless. Kanaahn plunged his sword back into its sheath and stormed from the room he was in, marching with intent to kill through the halls. Just when Kanaahn thought things couldn't get worse, he bumped clean into Shooter. Kanaahn looked up, and already in a bad mood, glared hard at Shooter, who glared right back. Kanaahn wasn't in the mood for taking any crap from Shooter and drew his sword instinctively. Shooter was already a step ahead of him and drew his dagger, as the two weapons moved closer to collosion, there was a sudden pain in Kanaahn's gut and he and Shooter flew to opposite ends of the hallway. Kanaahn staggered up and looked around, he saw Saki standing just outside of the door to the left of the center of the hallway, two thick vines protruded from the floor where Kanaahn and Shooter were just standing. Kanaahn put away his sword, but before he and Shooter could protest Saki motioned them silently to follow him into the room. They did as he asked, both felt silly to be scolded by such a young boy for fighting, but they also knew he was their master. As Kanaahn and Shooter walked into the room, they saw that it was dimly lit and there were three pillows arranged to face each other on the floor. A teapot with three glasses sat in the middle of the pillows. Silently, Saki motioned them to sit down.

Kanaahn and Shooter did as they were told; Saki sat down as well, facing both of them from the tip of the pillow triangle. As some vines poured all of them tea, Saki began to speak. "You shouldn't fight," he said calmly, "Not only is it disgraceful to see such vehemence and animosity between two Warriors, but it's also stupid and pointless to fight a friend." Kanaahn and Shooter said nothing as Saki continued. "I know, through rumors and what I've heard from Cecil and Kyeit—" Kanaahn cringed slightly at Kyeit's name "—but that is no reason to try and kill each other. Kanaahn I know your personal life has come into play and affected your mood and mindset lately, and Shooter I know you feel you deserve better treatment, but you shouldn't let something like this come between you." At this Shooter burst out, "You don't understand," he protested, "Kanaahn has always berated me and yelled at me and told me I'm stupid. Just because I mess up more than you do doesn't make me less than nothing—" "I never called you less than nothing!" Kanaahn shouted back. "You left me for dead without even coming to look for me! How else do I take that?" said Shooter. Kanaahn rolled his eyes, "Valence went looking and she couldn't find you. How was I supposed to know the Kothar didn't kill you? After all we didn't see any signs of you or Risasi, besides, it's not my fault you decided to fly north instead of south." "Save it," said Shooter fiercly. Saki cut them off with a sharp cough, "Enough," he said calmly, "What's done is done. It's in the past. Kanaahn made a mistake, he apologized to you I'm sure, and you should forgive him. As long as Kanaahn learns from his mistakes and doesn't do it again you have no reason to be mad like this Shooter." Shooter rolled his eyes, "You don't know what kind of a position I'm in." he said, "Don't try and pretend—" "I do," said Saki simply. "I do know how you feel, and let me tell you, when I was in your position I didn't act as foolishly as you. I forgave my brother. And so did Tsuta and Hasu."

"You're brother?" asked Kanaahn, "What does he have to do with it?" Saki sighed and sipped some tea, "Allow me to explain my story to you," he said calmly, "This is the story of how I went blind and how my brothers went deaf and mute. You see, it happened when I was a young child, only eight at the time. At first the day seemed like any other, Tsuta, Hasu and I were playing in the gardens and my sister Ayama was watching over us as she always did because she was the oldest of us all. Well, after a day of playing we came in for dinner, washed and went to bed. It was our mother's birthday the next day and we all wanted to get enough sleep so we could wake up early and surprise her in the morning. However, I didn't know that that would be the night that changed all of our lives. Shortly after we had gone to be, loud explosions woke my siblings and me up and thundering roars. We thought it might've been a storm, but we were wrong. My father burst into our room, he told us to get dressed and bring a few sets of clothes and only the most important belongings and meet him in the entrance hall. We listned, not sure what to make of the situation, but as we met my father in the entrance hall he told us what was wrong. The Kothar had begun their attack on the Tsuru family. They had broken through the walls of our estate, and were making their way towards the mansion. My father told us that anyone who was too young to fight had to evacuate to the Daron Headquarters by dragon. He sent Nure, Kabe, Tachi, Yumi, Kaze, Kasu, Tstuta, Hasu, and I to safety. While my father, my mother, Ayama, Ite, Geki, Baku, Yomi, and Moe went off to fight. Nure was put in charge of those escaping because she was the oldest out of the escaping group. Well, as we all evacuated one by one, Hasu, Tstuta, Yumi and I got it into our heads that we were strong enough to help the adults fight. We sent our dragons on ahead of us and ditched Nure. We ran back to the estate and saw the Kothar and our family engaged in battle on our front lawn. What we saw horrified us; everyone was covered in blood and cuts, and our mother and father lay there dead on the grass, now stained crimson with their blood, dead. The sight of our mother's dead and mangled body scarred Hasu; he hasn't spoken since. Apparently he's in so much shock he will never speak again. But despite that, we continued on towards the fight, our siblings were shocked to see us and Ayama did everything she could to shield, Hasu, Tsuta and I; Yomi took care of Yumi. Well, we fought for a little bit, and the added strength of the four of us who had snuck back to help had helped a bit. Unfortunately, just when we thought we were winning, things went wrong. Baku—who is a master of explosive magic—and Moe—a master of fire magic—got their attacks a little too close to each other. Needless to say, the explosion that followed was horrific. It left me blind and the noise it created left Tstuta deaf. Granted it scared the Kothar and their dragons to the point of retreat, but ever since Moe has always felt personally responsible for my brother and my disabilities. He thought he'd never be able to face us again, and he thought we hated him. But we forgave him, we knew it was an accident, and that he never meant for us to get hurt. Do you see the point I'm trying to make here?"

Kanaahn and Shooter nodded. "Good," said Saki roughly, "Now forgive each other. Do it before I start hitting you with vines again." Kanaahn and Shooter stood up and looked at each other. Their gaze lingered for a while, staring each other hard in the eye, as if waiting to see who would crack first, when suddenly, both of them blurted out at the same time "I'm sorry" then a silent pause; and then laughter. Kanaahn and Shooter broke down laughing, and embraced each other in a meaningful man hug, patting each other loudly on the back and laughing like two old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time. Saki gave a small smile, but attempted to hide it by sipping his tea. "Good, I'm glad you've made up now." He said still hiding his smile, "Now get out of here, all of this man love is starting to scare me. Come on now, out you go, go." Kanaahn and Shooter walked out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind them—after baying Saki goodbye and thanking him for getting them to talk to each other again. "I'm sorry that I left you behind, I promise I'll look harder for you if this ever happens again. I won't move on until we've found you." Said Kanaahn sincerely. "And I promise I'll forgive you next time you screw up—'cause god knows you will, many, many, many more times in your life." Said Shooter, who quickly added; "At least, I'll go forgive you sooner next time. I'm still going to be mad if it happens again." Kanaahn sighed and turned towards the window, "Yeah well you wouldn't be the first, you'll have to get in line next time," said Kanaahn. Shooter raised an eyebrow and followed Kanaahn to the window, "Who beat me to the punch?" he asked. Kanaahn cringed a little as Shooter mentioned the word "punch". "Kyeit did," sighed Kanaahn, "She's mad at me because I was training my ass off to fight the Kothar." Shooter nodded understandly, "Ah, so you screwed up again?" he said smiling slightly, "Boy you don't waste a minute do you? You just made up with me and already you screwed up your relationship." Kanaahn glanced hard back at Shooter, who quickly changed his tone from sarcasm to concer, and turned back to the window. "Do you want me to talk to her for you?" asked Shooter sincerely. "No," said Kanaahn adamantly, "Don't bother. I'm done. I'm not giving up my path to revenge. I don't care what she does now; this is my choice. And I know Saki said to forgive and forget, but I can't forgive the Kothar. They killed my _parents_ and they killed his too. Because of them I never got the chance to grow up with a normal family, I never knew my parents, I never knew what it's like to be loved by blood relatives and I never got to experience the life that any of you had." Shooter looked at Kanaahn with a sense of sympathy and relation, "You know Kyiet lost her parents to the Kothar too," said Shooter, "You both lost the people closest to you. Kyeit doesn't seem to want revenge on them, why does it bug you so much?"

Kanaahn leaned against the windowsill and sighed, "I don't know. I guess it's just some stupid pride thing that guys have." He said, "But stupid or not I'm not going to just give it up. I can't, otherwise it'll kill me. Someone needs to avenge all the people that those two monsters have killed." Shooter sighed, "Alright then," he said, "Suit yourself. Good luck." Shooter put his hand on Kanaahn's shoulder before leaving and said, "Kanaahn," he said seriously, "You know I'll always have your back right?" Kanaahn nodded, "Yeah I know," he answered. "Good," replied Shooter, "So you know you wont have to do this alone when the time comes. You'll have all of us there to fight the Kothar with you, and even if everyone else refuses to fight with you…I still will." There was a pause of silence and Shooter walked towards the door, "Shooter!" called Kanaahn, "Thanks…" Shooter gave his casual lopsided grin, and with that, walked from the hallway and left Kanaahn to his thoughts. "Now," he said to himself in a matter-of-factly tone, "To find Kyeit so I can fix this mess with her and Kanaahn." As if in answer to his goal, Shooter looked left just in time to see Kyeit standing alone on a balcony, Shooter instantly detoured towards Kyeit and stopped just at the exit to the balcony. "Knock, knock," said Shooter cockily, "May I come in?" Kyeit shrugged, not turning around. Shooter approached carefully and stood beside her, he could see she had been crying, but she still looked fierce and angry. "I heard about you and K—" "Don't say his name." said Kyeit fiercely, "Not now please." "Alright," said Shooter calmly, "I heard about it though, do you wanna talk about it?" Kyeit looked over at him, "I suppose Kanaahn sent you to talk to me?" she asked. "No," he said, "I offered but he told me not to. He said you needed to your space but to leave you alone. So I'm here as a friend, not as an ambassador." Kyeit sighed and hung her head, "Did I do the right thing? Yelling at him like that?" she asked him.

"Well, he needed a good talking to," said Shooter, "He can be a bit of an asshole sometimes. But still, he's a good meaning guy. If you want my opinion, I think you were right to set him straight, but you could've handled it a bit differently. But there's no point trying to change the past, you just have to learn from it…so for now, take your time, calm down—both of you—and then talk when you're both ready. You didn't break up with him did you?" Kyeit shook her head, "No, not officially," she said sighing, "Should I?" "No, you shouldn't." Said Shooter, "You two are perfect for each other. Everyone can see that, you just need your separate time to think, that's all." Kyeit sighed again, "Alright…has he always been like this? Kanaahn I mean. I mean, how was he back home, in Küla?" Shooter thought for a second, "Well, he's not always the best friend, but he's there when it counts. He's fearlessly brave and wont let anything stop him once he's determined. He's also fiercely loyal and he'll always have your back. The thing about Kanaahn is that if you're on his good side, you know you'll always have a friend for life. But then there are his bad traits. He's also assholic at times, he's hot headed, and he's alienating to the people he hates. And he's reckless as hell. There was this one time he almost got himself killed, trying to fight off several of the city's militia and guards. I don't remember why though…but it was for some stupid reason." "If I recall," Said a soft quiet voice from behind Shooter, "He did it to save your neck." Kyeit and Shooter wheeled around to see Arkas, walking towards them and standing next to Shooter. "Oh yeah…" said Shooter sheepishly, "I forgot that…" Arkas rolled his eyes, "Funny how we forget the small details huh?" he asked smiling. Kyeit sighed, "Well, as nice as that is," she said, "I don't know whether to count that action as incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid." Just as Shooter was about to give an answer, there was a loud hissing sound from behind them. The threesome wheeled around to see Cecil and Kanaahn in rapid discussion at whispered tones.

They were standing just before the doorway that led out onto the balcony and from what the group could see through the window Cecil was dragging Kanaahn by the arm. To which Kanaahn was protesting wildly, and hissing vehemently under his breathe, "No, no. I will _not_ do it." Kyeit rolled her eyes and turned around as Cecil finally managed to shove Kanaahn onto the balcony. The two of them joined the rest of the group, Kanaahn and Kyeit standing on either end of the line of the balcony. The sun was beginning to rise from the previous night, and it's orange light was cast across the now quiet city of Ethon. "It's nice in the morning isn't it?" asked Cecil trying to make conversation, "The city I mean." A few people nodded or grunted in acknowledgement, but the massive amount of tension in the air prevented any large conversations from starting. "You know…when you think about," said Arkas quietly, "This sunrise sort of represents a new beginning for us." Shooter scoffed haughtly, "What are you saying Arkas?" laughed Shooter, "I think everything with you is imagery you know that?" Cecil glared at Shooter, "I think what he's saying is sort of true. I think this is sort of symbolic." She said determinedly, causing Shooter to look away out of embarrassment. Eager to change the topic, Shooter blurted out, "Where's Arial? She's the only one of our little group that's not here. Speaking of which, where are the dragons?" Cecil looked at Shooter pleasantly now that he had finished with attacking Arkas and answered, "The dragons are out on a hunting and training trip with Thrae and Orichalum at the moment. They wont be back for several hours, I'm surprised you didn't know?

They've been gone for a few days now. Then again they did leave suddenly. The dragons have been rather busy lately haven't they?" Everyone nodded in agreement, and in truth each and every one of them were starting to miss their dragons and the time they used to spend with them. "As for Arial," continued Cecil, "I'm not sure where she is. I saw her wandering around the castle with Yumi earlier. And I know she's been spending time with Leon too…but I don't know. Sorry." Kanaahn sighed, "If you ask me I think they're laying each other, her and Leon." Cecil hit him in the arm at that comment, "What?" demanded Kanaaahn defensively, "It's true. I saw how she looked at him when they met. She looked like she wanted him in her pants. If you ask me they've already had it." This time Kanaahn blocked Cecil's punch and then simply laughed at her. Shooter and Arkas laughed too, even Kyeit laughed as well—though she soon remembered she was mad at Kanaahn and went back to sulking and ignoring him. Kanaahn sighed and looked back at the rising sun, "This is it huh?" asked Kanaahn, "Is this was being a real Dragon Warrior is like?" he asked, "I don't feel much different. I feel more powerfully mind you, but that's only on the outside. I don't feel different personality wise; though I will admit, this is sort of nice. It's calming that's for sure. This is a very serene moment." Everyone nodded in agreement, or added in the occasional, "Yeah, it is…" And so the five of them stood on the balcony, watching the sun slowly rise into the sky as the city slowly came to life and people began about their daily lives. "Our lives are totally gonna change forever…" said Kanaahn mostly to himself, "I can feel it in my gut. I don't know for better or worse—probably a bit of both knowing us…but I know it'll change. But I also know we'll be ready and waiting."


	18. Chapter 16: Leon's Past, Arial's Friend

Chapter 16: Leon's Past, Arial's New Friend

"Good, good." Said Leon, "You're learning fast." Arial smiled up at him from her desk from which she scanned over several draconic texts. "Learning new languages has never been my strong suit," said Arial as she continued to scan the text, "I'm glad you agreed to give me some extra help with learning draconic." Leon shrugged and smiled, "It's nothing really," he said, "I am your master after all. It's my job to make sure you do well right?" Arial nodded and then turned back to her book, there was a pause where she stopped reading however. Arial turned back to look at Leon, a childish, gloating smile on her face. "You like me huh?" she said jeeringly. Leon blushed and his eyes began to shift, "No!" he said defensively, "Please. You're a Dragon Warrior. You have…duties. I can't just like you like that, besides I'm your master, which would be wrong on—" Arial smiled wider and leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek, "Admit it." She said softly. Leon looked down at her, but stepped back a bit, "I d-" Arial reached up on the tips of her toes again and kissed him on the lips. She smiled at him as she pulled back, "Admit it," she said again. Leon pulled away and blushed, "Alright, yes." He said nervously, "Fine, I like you. But I'm not doing anything about it. Okay?" Arial frowned and tried to put her arms around his neck, but he pulled away from her, "We have our separate responsibilities," said Leon seriously, "Besides, we don't even know anything about each other." Arial frowned, "Fine," she said, "What do you want to know about me?" Leon sighed, "It's not that simple," he said turning away. "Oh yeah?" asked Arial challenging him, "I'm a blond girl from the village of Küla, I've lived there my entire life up until we found the dragons. I come from a moderately wealthy family and my father died when I was very young. Kanaahn lives with me and is like a brother to me because he has no parents or family of his own and I think I'm in love with you. Deeply, hopelessly and foolishly in love with you…" Leon looked at her with earnest and sighed, "You're turn now," said Arial looked at him with her soft blue eyes, "You know about me, I want to know about you."

Leon stopped and thought for a long time; finally he responded. "Fine then," he said, "I want you to promise me this then. Promise me you wont judge me, or give me your pity once. And promise me that you wont tell anyone else about this, alright?" Arial nodded, "Yes, I promise." She said. Leon sighed and looked up at Arial, "Alright then, here it goes." He said, "I guess it all starts when I was a child. I never knew my mother, she died in childbirth and my father was always working as king of Ethon, so I never got close to him either. It was Orichalum who raised me mostly, since many of the nursemaids couldn't handle me once I learned to walk and talk."

"Orichalum raised me, along with his daughter Thrae, as if we were his own children. So in a sense, Orichalum is like my father, and Thrae—although she was raised along with me—has always been like my mother. She's watched out for me and kept and eye on me since we were both young. That's why I'm her rider, she wants to make sure I'm always safe and she figured the only way she could do that is if she was always with me, even in the heat of battle. I had a happy childhood, for the most part, I spent a lot of the time with the dragons and I learned a lot from them too, it wasn't until I turned nine that I realized those days wouldn't go on forever. It was one morning when my father burst into my room and yelled at me to get dressed. He dragged me from my bed and waited until I was ready to go. He then led me without a word to the hall where Kanaahn spends many of his days training, and had me practice with every kind of weapon imaginable. I could never get the hang of any of them though, and I would always get hurt or if I started doing something right, the look of disappointment and fury on my fathers face would cause me to start doing the wrong thing again. My father would always tell me that I would never amount to anything, and if this is where the monarchy of Estion was headed he had very few hopes for our country's future. As I grew older though, I did slowly get the hang of weaponry, but no matter how much better I got, my father would still be unrelenting. Nothing was good enough for him, and as I grew into my teenage years we fought constantly. The truth was, I always did admire my father, he was a really great king, but he was too strict and old fashioned. He was too by the book and was very narrow minded about other ideas."

"I think it was because he was not only king of Ethon, but also Dragon Master of Brass. Just as his father and grandfather were before him; I think it was years of tradition and pressure to live up to the expectations of the people that made him the way he was. His grandfather apparently the same kind of person he was, which must've left a massive impression on my grandfather, and my father. Anyway, the day came when the previous Grand Dragon Master of Gold, the one who worked under Aurum directly, passed on. My father eventually chosen to replace him as Grand Master and so my father left me the throne and title of Dragon Master of Brass. He wasn't happy about it though, because I was only sixteen at the time of my coronation. He thought I was too young and because I wasn't as hardened and tyrannical as he was, he was dead set against it. But unfortunately he had no choice; he knew he couldn't hold on to his throne while in another country, it would be too hard to relay messages back and forth. Though trust me, he tried to, at least until Orichalum and Aurum intervened. My father wasn't happy about that though, and he made sure I knew it. Up until the day of my coronation he spent his final days as king shut up in his room, where the only people allowed in was the servant who brought him his meals and his personal advisor. And even on the day of my coronation my father made it a point of not showing up until he had too and leaving soon after, only to return when people had left to tell me that I would ruin the kingdom within a year. I didn't see him after that; he left the next morning, early in the morning, before even the watchman changed shifts. The only people who knew that he had left were the gate guards and stable boys who gave him the horse and caravan he needed for the journey."

"I haven't seen him since." And that's the line Leon finished with. By now he was starting at the wall past Arial's head, deep in thought as if replaying these memories in his mind. There were a few minutes of silence before Arial spoke. Arial wrapped her arms around Leon and silently hugged him, squeezing her arms tight around him. She stood up and kissed Leon and gave him a soft, loving look. Despite the slight pity Arial showed for him, she also showed him love and caring. Her eyes seemed to say, "I'm sorry, but I'm here to help you." Leon sighed silently and smiled, he nuzzled Arial's cheek and hugged her close. "Now was that so hard?" asked Arial, kissing him on the cheek. Leon looked into her eyes and gave a small smile, "I guess not," he said kissing her on the cheek as well. Leon smiled at looked hard at Arial, "Arial, can I ask you something?" he asked. "What?" she asked curiously. "Well, I know I'm being very forward by asking this. And under normal circumstances I would wait a long time to ask this. But considering our jobs and duties and our uncertain futures, would you…possibly consider…one day not now of course…well, spending your life with me?" asked Leon nervously, his face flushing red. Arial's eyes lit up, and she stuttered to find words, "Y-you mean like marry you?" asked Arial in total disbelief. Leon nodded, "Well not now, but some day yes." He said smiling at her. Arial looked over Leon's shoulder and thought long and hard for several minutes.

"I don't know Leon…" she said nervously, "I mean, sure I love you, and sure the idea sounds inviting, but I don't know if I'm ready to make that kind of promise yet…I'm only sixteen, plus you're a king and I'm a dragon warrior. We both have our responsibilities. Besides who knows how long we'll be together. Besides, it's like you said, our futures are really uncertain. I can't answer that right now." Leon kissed her and smiled softly at her, "You don't have to answer now then," he said, "Think about it, and answer when you're ready, okay?" Arial smiled at him and nodded, "Okay, I will." She said, "It's going to take a lot of thinking through though, so don't expect an answer yet." As Arial leaned in to kiss him again there was a loud explosion and thunderous roar, which shook the castle. Suddenly a loud bell started to clang in the distance followed by several war horns. Arial looked at Leon in panic, and Leon stood up, walking towards the window to pear out at the city. He swore loudly and turned back to Arial, "Arial, get dressed and go find the other Warriors. I'll dispatch a messenger to Orichalum and the other dragons to return." Arial looked at Leon, somewhat fearfully, but also feeling exhilarated by the sudden excitement, "It's an attack," said Leon, his mind rushing to think of his next step, "We need to prepare to defend and counter attack. Gather the Warriors and alert the guards to gather the soldiers." Arial rushed around, gathering up her books and scrolls, after she packed them up she ran to the door, but stopped and looked back at Leon. "What should I tell them is attacking us?" she asked hurriedly. Leon looked grave as he scanned her face, "We're under attack by Tenebrae's army. And tell them that the head of their army is Supri Fothisevi." He said dismally. Arial looked at him, horror and shock in her face, "Go!" urged Leon desperately, "We don't have time to waste!" And with that, Arial disappeared through the doors and off towards her friends; the name "Supri Fothisevi" still ringing through her head.


	19. Chapter 17: Attack on Ethon

Chapter 17: Attack on Ethon, A Taste of True Evil

Kanaahn and the others scrambled around the castle, running through it's halls, waking up guards and soldiers and trying desperately to get down to the armory. Their minds were still only half focusing on what they were doing, as the other half of their mind was trying to still make sense of what Arial had just told them. Kanaahn couldn't believe it. Supri Fothisevi, an ancient dragon deity, Finally after walking through what seemed like hundreds of soldier's quarters, Kanaahn and the others ran to the armories. Kanaahn couldn't help but feel a sense of destiny as he slipped on his mail and greaves and bracers, followed by his gauntlets. Kanaahn contemplated whether or not he should wear full armor, and finally decided on it. Arial smiled at him as she passed, carrying with her a heavy broad sword and a blue and yellow shield with a brass colored dragon on the front. "Dressing in full armor for once eh, Kanaahn?" she asked cheekily. Kanaahn rolled his eyes and strapped on his sword around his waist and a small buckler shield to his forearm. "I'm ready," said Kanaahn as he readjusted his long hair. Cecil looked over at him from behind a weapons rack, "You're going out with that tiny shield?" she asked concernedly, "You're going to get hurt." Kanaahn shrugged, "I don't feel like being lagged down by a heavy, full sized shield. I want to be mobile while fighting, I can't worry about anything other than where my blade lands." Cecil sighed, "Alright then," she said, "At least put on a helmet. Trust me, I've heard stories about those who've battled Supri Fothisevi, you can _never_ go wrong with a helmet." Kanaahn shrugged and smiled, "I'm still getting used to full armor," he joked, "Baby steps Cecil, baby steps."

Arial rolled her eyes and Kanaahn exited the armory, then turned over to Cecil as she slid her gauntlets on and tightened them, "That boy is stubborn as ever," she said, "But at least he's smartening up…a bit anyway." Cecil fastened her sword to her waist and then walked towards Arial and helped her tighten her breastplate, "I have to admit though," said Cecil, "I can see why Kyeit can get mad at him sometimes, at least times like now when he's being stubborn." Arial sighed as she finished strapping her sword to her belt and brandished her staff fancily. "You think she has it bad, we've had to put up with it most of our lives," laughed Arial as she and Cecil walked up the stone steps. The two twisted around the circular staircase until they came out onto the ramparts of the battlements. They were standing on the city wall, looking out at the vast—and now very empty—plains that surrounded the city for miles. Several large black masses covered the land on all sides of the cities, and large banners flew from poles that poked up from the masses. Several large black dragons—who looked like large birds from a distance—spotted the skies with their forms, letting out piercing roars as they inched closer to the city, and from the center of the black masses, marching slowly and thunderously as the pinnacle of the attack, Supri Fothisevi. All 8 of its malicious and demonic heads looking straight towards its goal; the creature let out a massive roar, shaking the city to it's core. From below, Cecil and Arial could see that people were panicking, animals and people ran around the market streets, trying to gather up as many loved ones and belongings as possible in case they needed to evacuate, or trying to find a safe place to hide so that they wouldn't be killed in the resulting battle. The girls turned back towards the plains and saw Leon, Kanaahn, Kyeit, Arkas and Shooter organized by the northern wall. "Come on," said Cecil, "Let's catch up with them."

Cecil and Arial dodged between soldiers who ran across the ramparts, bringing messages between encampments and companies. Arial and Cecil reached Leon—who was dressed in full battle armor, decorated with enamored silver and brass and a flowing blue and yellow cape that blew in the oncoming breeze—and stood beside Arkas. "—Garrison to each gate to reinforce them. We don't want the dark armies to break through—" Leon cut off and waved at the girls, then turned back to Kanaahn and the others and began to point around the city, "No doubt Tenebrae has resurrected the dead to bring back those soldiers, there is no way he could get Altimara's army up to that size with living beings. No, they're definitely the undead. As for the dragons and Supri Fothisevi, we'll have archers and catapults take them out from the towers and walls, they'll be harder to deal with without the dragons here, but I've dispatched an envoy to recall them. They should be here soon. Until then we're going to have to hold down the fort. Supri Fothisevi is strong but he moves slowly, we'll have time before he reaches the walls of the city. The black dragons will probably get here first; they fly faster than the foot soldiers walk and they'll be our top priority right now. As for the army, we'll take them on head to head with ours. Since your dragons aren't here we're going to need you guys to join our ranks and lead the garrisons. You're all going to be divided and you're going to be made field marshals. You'll lead the garrisons' while they defend the city."

"Leon," piped up Arkas, "What about the citizens? They need to be organized and prepared in case an evacuation is necessary. People can't die, Leon. They're panicking down there." Leon nodded and turned to face Arkas, "You're right," he said, "You'd make a good king, I didn't think about that. All right Arkas, you and Cecil can go gather some soldiers and take care of that. Gather the villagers to the western side of the city; far away from the where the enemy is coming from. It'll keep them away from the battlegrounds. Close the battle gates—they're located along the wall that divides the city in half. Make sure those gates _stay close_ and have casters enchant the walls so they people will be protected from any dark magic the armies might possess. Go, start now, the people need to be protected and safe before the battle begins. And when you're done I want you to get back over here, I think we'd have use of your bow." Arkas nodded and turned to face Cecil, the two lingered looks for a moment, then turned towards the nearest staircase and ran down into the city below, gathering up guards and soldiers. "Now," said Leon, "I'll divide the rest of you up into different positions. There are four gates that need to be protected, I'll take one, and the rest of you will be split into two groups of two. Kyeit with Arial, Shooter goes with Kanaahn. Kanaahn and Shooter take the gate towards the northeast, Kyeit and Arial to the southeast; I'll stay here and guard the main gate towards the east. I'll call for you with war horns when your dragons arrive." The group nodded and split up into their groups, dashing off towards their respective gates.

"Kanaahn, watch my back when the fight starts all right?" called Shooter as the two ran towards the northeast gate. Kanaahn nodded, "You got it." Meanwhile, Arial and Kyeit were running the opposite direction, and had just arrived at the southeast gate. Kyeit instantly began commanding the soldiers to positions. "Alright, listen up!" she shouted, "King Leon put me in charge of this garrison, out job is to reinforce this gate so that the enemy doesn't break through. Now, the most important thing we can do to prevent that is to put up a barricade. I want anyone capable of heavy lifting to scower the nearby houses and shops for anything and everything that can be used to block the gate. That means tables, chairs, wagons, desks, anything heavy. Even items made of metal or brick can be used. Go now! The rest of you, if any of you have any skill with a bow get up on the top of the wall and prepare to defend your city. You're going to be our first hope of quelling the enemy's attacks. The first thing their army's going to see when they get within firing range are your arrows, with any hope, you'll be able to thin out their numbers before they reach the gates. Whoever's left is under Arial's command, you're going to be responsible for backing up the soldiers incase any of the enemies slip through. We need to hold this gate until Orichalum arrives." Instantly, without a second word, the soldiers began to carry out the tasks given to them by Kyeit, while her and Arial oversaw them.

"The way I see it, it's lucky that we got put together," said Arial as two large men threw a table in front of the gate. "How so?" asked Kyeit as she walked up the stairs to examine the archers. "Well, we fought together before, in Xiar. We know each others fighting styles." Said Arial. Kyeit smiled, but soon let it fade "Yes, we did," she answered, "But this battle isn't going to be like Xiar. Tenebrae's armies have grown. They're made of the living undead, the black dragons, and the now revived Supri Fothisevi. Tenebrae underestimated out power and strength before, and he failed to kill us by doing so, he's not going to make the same mistake again. This time he's taken every precaution possible to make sure he tries to kill us." Arial walked up the stone steps and stood beside Kyeit—who was now looking out at the plains, watching the armies close in on the city; their war horns blaring—"We're not going to let them though, even if I have to fight with my life, I'm not giving up to Tenebrae. I don't think anyone is." said Arial determinedly. Kyeit smiled again, "And that's why I have a good feeling we'll win." Meanwhile, Arkas and Cecil were running through the streets; at least a hundred soldiers in their wake. They were gathering up villagers and herding them together like sheep, forcing them beyond the dividing wall that split the city in half, so they would be safe during the battle. "Is that everyone?" called Cecil to Arkas as they dashed through the streets, "I think so." He called back; "Lets focus on funneling them all behind the wall quickly without anyone being trampled." Cecil nodded, and ran around towards the gate, trying to calm down the panicked people, and reassure them that they weren't in any danger.

However, before Cecil's calming words could take effect, a loud roar was emitted from above. "It's the black dragons!" cried someone in the crowd. "We're all doomed!" cried another. Instantly, the crowd began to scream and panic and they charged through the gate without another complaint, all of them afraid of what would happen if the black dragons that flew overhead began their attack on a group of innocent villagers. Instantly, Arkas could hear the shouts of soldiers from the battlements on the dividing wall, and from the towers of the palace and the rooftops of houses. Even soldiers from several plazas over could be heard screaming to load the ballistaes and catapults, and several shouts later, the air was filled with the whistling sound of rocks and large ballista arrows. There were several crashing sounds and cheers as the arrows sent a few dragons towards the ground dead. Arkas just managed to dodge as a large rock followed by a dead dragon landed a few feet from where he stood now. "Arkas!" shouted Cecil as he ran towards the divinding wall, "Be careful!" Arkas blushed, and ducked his head as he ran, "I will…" he mumbled back. Arkas dashed up the steps towards Cecil and up onto the wall as the iron gates below slammed shut. Cecil threw her arms around him instantly, "Thank god you're okay," she said, and then quickly pulled away as if not meaning to hug him at all in the first place. "I mean, I'd hate to loose such a good friend as you," she said with a sigh, "I'd just feel so terrible. I've never seen anyone die before…I'd hate it if was any one of you guys." Arkas looked back at the dead dragon, "Yeah, I know what you mean." He said, "Cecil, can you handle things here?" "What?" asked Cecil shocked, "What do you mean?"

"I promised Leon I'd get back to the wall and help him defend the city," replied Arkas, "He needs bowman." Cecil bit her lip and jumped from the wall, landing beside Arkas. "I'm coming with you." She said. "You're going to need protection getting back, you can't defend yourself with simply your bow." Arkas shook his head, "No, you're needed here to lead the soldiers and keep people calm," he said, "Besides, it's dangerous." Cecil stamped her foot, "I'm not a child," she said, "I'm a fully trained Dragon Master. I can take care of my own, and if you try and stop me I'm going to put a binding spell on you." Arkas sighed, "You women are all the same," he said, "Always so difficult. Fine, come on, we'd better hurry." Cecil nodded, and quickly turned back to the soldier who was manning the gate, "Constable!" she shouted back, "You're in charge of this garrison!" The constable nodded and started to give orders to other soldiers as Cecil and Arkas dashed down the street. Several more roars and yells filled the air as the black dragons made their second pass over the city, this time blowing their acidic breath down on the city, causing buildings and the unfortunate soldiers who were hit to disintegrate. The yells of guards calling for medics and the loud clangs and twangs of ballistae and catapults being fired at the dragons followed, mixing in with the pained screams of the soldiers dying comrades.

And once more, dragon corpses fell to the ground, some thrashing around in pain, others dead already, and others dying in their descent. There was a loud roar from above, and Arkas looked up just in time to see a large dragon fallen down towards them, it was injured; it's wings pierced by a ballistae arrow. The dragon was heading for the ground quickly, right on the spot where Cecil was standing. Arkas, with a sudden rush of courage, dashed forward and picked Cecil up in his arms, and ran faster still, far from where the dragon was about to land. And with a crash, the dragon hit the ground, and Cecil was safe. Cecil jumped from Arkas's arms, speechless but grateful, but before she could thank him, the dragon roared loudly in pain; it wasn't dead yet. Before Arkas could turn around and defend himself, the dragon clawed its way towards him and swung its thick, armored tail, catching Arkas across the chest. Arkas screamed in pain, and fell to his knees, "Arkas!" Cecil cried out in worry. The dragon reared up, it's injured wing making every move a struggle, and prepared for the finishing attack. However, it was stopped as another loud roar grew louder, and another dragon landed dead ontop of the first, killing it and saving Arkas. Cecil looked around and saw that the black dragons had made a third round around the city, this time swooping low over the rooftops, picking up soldiers and ballistae, and dropping them down to their death from many miles above. Without a second thought, Cecil rushed towards Arkas, who was now trying to stand up—though with much effort. "Arkas!" exclaimed Cecil as she put her hand to his chest. There was a deep gash across it from the wound inflicted by the dragon, and his armor was torn as well as the chainmail. He was bleeding through his leather shirt, which he wore beneath his armor, and his skin was already starting to pale.

"Arkas you're hurt, you need to get to a medic." Begged Cecil worried, "You're going to die of blood loss if you don't." Arkas shook his head, and stood up, huffing with effort, "I'll…I'll be fine…" he said between breaths, "Don't…don't…worry, alright…?" Cecil bit her lip, but nodded, "You better be okay, dammit." She said seirously, "I've never seen a friend die before and I'm not about to start now." Arkas smiled and gave her a playful shove, "I'll be fine," he said as he turned towards the gate, "We should go." Cecil nodded and the two stood up, once again running towards their goal; the eastern gate. Meanwhile, Kanaahn and Shooter had already arrived at their wall to the northeast. The gate had been fortified and every able-bodied soldier and guard within the garrison had been strategically placed for battle. "Is it normal to feel sick before a battle?" asked Shooter to Kanaahn. Kanaahn smiled, "I don't know, this is only our second." He answered, "How did you feel before the battle at Xiar?" Shooter laughed, "Worse," he said, "I actually threw up before that battle." Kanaahn laughed and patted Shooter on the back, "Good, you're improving already." Shooter gave a laugh as well, but the loud blaring of a war horn and the shout of a soldier cut the festivities short. "They're at the gates!" he shouted, "The enemy has arrived at the gates!" Kanaahn and Shooter dashed up to the ramparts without a second word, they were ready to fight. True enough, as they looked out at the plains that lay before the city, they were flooded with hundreds—possibly even thousands—of soldiers. Kanaahn scanned the soldiers closer and learned that Leon was right, these soldiers were the undead, brought back by dark and powerful magic. "This is going to get interesting," said Kanaahn, biting his lip. "How can we kill people who are already dead?" asked one soldier. He was a young boy, probably no older than Kanaahn. Shooter turned back to him and gave him a lop-sided smile, "You're going to try you're hardest, that's how." He said, and then turned back to the battlefield.

"Just for future reference," whispered Shooter to Kanaahn, "How _are_ we going to take down an army of people who are already dead?" Kanaahn bit his lip harder, "I have no idea…we'll think of something. For now, we just need to do as you said, try our hardest." Shooter sighed, "We're doomed arnen't we?" he asked. Kanaahn remained silent, but he knew the answer to that question. "Alright men!" shouted Kanaahn to his soldiers, "We're going to keep this wall braced and fortified! We are _not_ going to let these demons and heathens enter this city! We are going to fight for the king, for our freedom and for our families! We are _never_ going to give in to them! Do you understand me?" The soldiers replied in unison, "Yes sir!" "Good!" smiled Kanaaahn, "Now! Let's make ourselves proud! Let's do this!" The crows raised their swords—as did Kanaahn—and let out a battle yell. The enemies in the plains heard the screams and yelled back, ready for a charge, and began to blow their war horns again. But a loud booming voice that shook the ground with its might and power filled the air and silenced everything. "Surrender," hissed the deep voice, "Surrender." It continued again, "Surrender, Surrender." Growing more vile and malicious as it went. Several soldiers were now in the ground, holding their ears. They were in pain, and a few had even gone mad and were being restrained by their comrades. "Surrender, Ethon. Surrender." Said the voice again. The hairs on Kanaahn and Shooter's neck began to rise, as if the voice had suddenly washed a cold wave of water over the city, bathing it in ice and snow.

"Hold strong!" said Kanaahn as the voice continued. Winds started to pick up and blow dust across the land. "Hold!" shouted Kanaahn over the winds. "Surrender!" yelled the voice now, "Surrender! Surrender! Surrender!" The voice began to speed up, and the words soon became a chant, "Surrender! Surrender! Surrender!" It grew louder and louder as it grew, louder and louder until the earth shook and houses fell from the strain. "Surrender!" shouted the voice again. "SURRENDER!" The voice shouted as loud as it could and an ear splitting roar filled the air and several more houses collapsed. Then, all went silent. The wind died down, and anyone who had gone mad was now normal again. The voice spoke again, this time, slowly, powerfully, and evilly, "You have been given the chance to surrender," said the voice, "Do not say I have not given you a chance. You were given the chance to flee for your lives, and surrender to my army and I. Now you shall face our wrath. You were warned." There was a loud roar and the army let out a loud yell, and began to charge the gate. "Brace the battlements!" shouted Kanaahn instantly, "Archers to your positions! Brace those gates, they have to hold! We can't loose!" Several soldiers ran towards the gates and pressed against the items that were reinforcing it, archers loaded their bows and began to fire a rain of arrows at the army. "Keep firing archers!" shouted Kanaahn. "Kanaahn!" shouted Shooter, "Cover me! I'm going down there!" Kanaahn turned around just in time to see Shooter jump off the rampart and into the soldiers below.

"Shooter you idiot!" he called after him, "What are you doing?" There was no reply; Kanaahn waited a bit longer, but still no answer. "I'm going to regret this," said Kanaahn, "Oh, wait, no I'm not, I love doing stupid shit like this." And with that, Kanaahn was over the rampart and into the crowd of soldiers. He drew his sword and started swinging, soldiers flew left and right, a few didn't get back up, others did—many of which were missing limbs or ribs. Kanaahn could hear Shooter's voice somewhere to the left, or was it the right? Kanaahn couldn't tell, but all he knew that Shooter was okay, and for now that was all that he needed to know. "Kanaahn!" shouted Shooter from somewhere close. "Yeah?" asked Kanaahn as he plunged his sword through the ribcage of a skeletal soldier. "Make sure when you attack these guys," said Shooter between what Kanaahn assumed were swings of his knife, "That you aim for their head, and destroy it!" "Why?" asked Kanaahn as he ducked beneath a battle-axe of a nearby soldier. "Because—erngh!" Shooter grunted as he heaved a soldier off the end of his knife, "They don't die unless their head's destroyed. I don't know why, that's just how the magic works I guess." Kanaahn nodded, "Thanks!" called Kanaahn as he jumped in the air and swung his sword through a soldier's skull, shattering it. "Ha! It worked!" shouted Kanaahn, "That's perfect!" Kanaahn landed and continued to slash away at soldier's heads. Several of them blocked his many attempts, others fell instantly before realizing what was coming. There was a loud shout from behind them, followed by a bang and some screams. "Master Kanaahn!" called a soldier on the battlements, "They've broken through the gate! We can't hold them any longer! Please return so you can command us!"

"Shooter, come on! We're pulling back!" Kanaahn yelled as he dashed towards the wall, "The enemy has broken through our gate and we need to head back to fight them there!" Shooter called back in response and the two dashed towards the wall, they ran up the wall and front flipped onto the battlements. They landed lightly and then jumped from the battlements onto the streets below; landing back to back. The two fought and shouted orders to the soldiers under their command. Back to back, Kanaahn and Shooter continued to fend of the hordes of undead soldiers and skeletal figures that threatened the city. Niether of them had ever fought so hard for their lives ever before. Meanwhile, Kyeit and Arial were having a harder time defending their gate. The enemy soldiers had already broken through, and they had just received word from Leon's soldiers that Supri Fothisevi would be in attack range in ten minutes or less. This meant that the rush to get the dragons back on time, and the rush to keep the army at bay was so important. If the army rushed the city before Supri Fothisevi, every soldier in the city would be too busy to fortify against whatever attack Supri Fothisevi was preparing for them. "Get that skeleton!" shouted Kyeit, "He's trying to sneak around the side of that house! He can't get into the city! Stop him!" Kyeit was busing battling a large, heavily armored skeleton with two very large swords, while Arial was fighting off one who wielded a large battle-axe.

Luckily, a soldier managed to cut the soldier off before it reached the city and destroyed it before it could break through. Finally, after much fighting, several skeletons lay dead in the streets the soldiers had managed to shut the gate and portcullis again. "Archers fire down on the enemy! We need to keep them outside the gate for good this time!" yelled Arial as she finished with her soldier, and then dashed over to Kyeit to finish off hers for her. "Thank you," said Kyeit, sheathing her sword as the soldier hit the ground. "Keep finding things to reinforce that door!" shouted Kyeit down to the soldiers, "Arial, go help them, they'll need a morale boost, and if they see one of their commanders helping out and not beaten and down they'll work harder." Arial nodded and ran down the steps to help the soldiers. Ten minutes passed before Arial and the others returned with two large oak tables and placed them in front of the door. "Hurry!" hissed Kyeit, "We don't have much—" There was a loud screech, and a high pitched howling sound, like air being sucked through a small hole. Then, everything went silent. All of the eight heads of Supri Fothisevi were pointed inward toward a central direction, and then, 8 rays of energy combined and blasted its way towards the central gate of the city. There was a loud blast and an explosion, which tuned in instantly as if someone had brought the volume back up. Kyeit and Arial looked over at the central gates, but it was obscured by smoke from the blast. Large chunks of the wall flew up into the air, and came crashing down on houses and enemy soldiers in the area. Instantly, Kyeit started out at a run, heading towards the eastern gate, "Arial, come on!" she shouted, "We need to get to Leon! Constable you're in charge!"

Arial dashed off behind Kyeit, the two of them running as fast as they could to the eastern gate. By the time they reached the eastern gate, the enemy had already tried to force its way through the broken walls, soldiers who had survived the impact were fighting them off as best as they could, and it appeared that reinforcements from the northeastern gates had already arrived as Kanaahn and Shooter were in the thick of battle fighting off the soldiers. Arkas and Cecil were there too, with support from the palace, Arkas fighting a little slower than normal, and Cecil at the top of her game; not far behind from Arkas, keeping and eye on him. Leon—though his cape was rather town and tattered—was fighting as well, with three soldiers backing him up. Kyeit and Arial jumped down into the heat of the fight, and began to hack away at the enemy soldiers. There was a shout from an archer on the battlements, "He's preparing another attack! Everyone take cover!" Kanaahn looked up at the sky, and saw Supri Fothisevi—who could've been no more than a few hundred meters away—preparing another of his energy blasts. Expecting the worse, Kanaahn fought his hardest, if he was going to go down like this, he was going to die fighting. Fighting until the end; fighting for freedom, and for what was right. "Here it comes!" shouted the archer from the battlements. 'This is it,' thought Kanaahn, 'I'm done for. This is the end.' Suddenly, a roar in the distant pierced the oncoming silence, and then, an explosion. But Kanaahn was still alive, the beam had hit something; maybe he was already in heaven? Maybe death was instant? No, no that couldn't be it. He was still alive. Kanaahn looked up at Supri Fothisevi, and saw Orichalum and Thrae—along with Djall and the other dragons—had knocked each head towards the sky, and the beam had exploded in midair.

Several soldiers had raised their swords to the sky and let out invigorated and triumphant yells. The dragons had arrived, and all was not lost. Not yet. As Orichalum and Thrae tried to fend off Supri Fothisevi, Djall, Risasi and the other dragons landed outside of the wall—crushing several hundred members of the enemy's soldiers in the process—and began to spit fire, acid and whatever other breath powers they possessed onto the armies in the city, cutting the skeletal army in half. Kanaahn and the others ran towards their dragons, "Djall!" shouted Kanaahn with relief, "Thank goodness, you don't know how much you've saved us." Djall laughed, "You are admitting that you're helpless without me?" Kanaahn grabbed Djall's reigns and swung himself over onto the saddle, "Never," said Kanaahn with a smile, "I just missed you that's all." Djall laughed and flapped his wings, rising into the sky. "Who put your armor on?" asked Kanaahn. "King Leon's envoy, they brought the chromatic dragons some armor, since metallic dragons already have scales like armor." Djall and the others flew towards Thrae and Orichalum, who were still fighting off Supri Fothisevi, and had managed to force the large dragon back a few hundred feet away from the city.

"Warriors!" shouted Thrae, "Thank you for joining us. We need the help. My father and I cannot hold Supri Fothisevi off forever." "What do we need to do?" asked Fyete. Adalinda nodded, "What can we do to help?" she asked. "We must not let Supri Fothisevi reach the city, for if he does, it will mean the destruction of us all, and the city shall be lost. Also, above all else, we cannot let him release that powerful energy attack. Also, you should know, Supri Fothisevi has a ten-minute interval between blasts. He just fired a blast, which gives us ten minutes to bring him down before he releases it again." The dragons and their riders nodded, "Everyone, take a head!" shouted Orichalum as he flew between at 8 heads, dodging teeth and horns. Instantly, everyone in the group split up and starting fighting off the different heads. Kanaahn had chosen to take on the left center head, it horns—though daunting—were easy to dodge, and the head moved to slow for Djall to be hit. However, as time dwindled on, neither Kanaahn nor the head could land an attack on each other, and what was worse, there were only a few minutes left before it could release another blast. "Kanaahn!" shouted Shooter from a few heads over, "The dragon keep moving forward! I don't know how much longer we can hold it off!" "Just keep fighting!" called Cecil from the far right head, "We can't give up! Just a bit longer!" Kanaahn was distracted for a bit too long listening to Cecil and Shooter's conversation, and before he knew it, the Supri Fothisevi's head had grabbed Kanaahn from Djall's back—piercing Djall's side with it's horn in the process—and began to fling him around like a ragdoll. Kanaahn could feel a tooth piercing his armor and chain mail, and start tearing into his flesh. The dragon had him around his chest, and he felt like his arm was about to be ripped off. 'Correction,' thought Kanaahn as he winced in pain, '_This_ is the end.'

Suddenly, Kanaahn felt the jaws release pressure, as Djall—though in much pain—had bit down on the jawbone of that head. Kanaahn began to fall as the head let him go, until Djall swooped down and let Kanaahn fall on his saddle. Weakly, Kanaahn grabbed the reigns, and held on for dear life. All of a sudden, Kanaahn could hear Thrae shouting, "Fall back! He's reached the city wall! It's over! He's going to unleash the blast!" Kanaahn could blurrily see the castle of Ethon getting closer, and then he saw a flash of blue light, and then the sound of an explosion, then people screaming and crying and some of them collapsing in disbelief. Kanaahn looked from the crowds of soldiers to the castle of Ethon, and then noticed, the castle wasn't there anymore. Supri Fothisevi had destroyed the castle of Ethon. Djall landed on the ground, and Kanaahn—with much effort—struggled to stand up and get off his saddle. He could see four blurs of white, and several large vines scaring off the enemy soldiers. "The Tsuru Elders have returned from their envoy mission." said Leon. Kanaahn looked over at Leon, who was standing just a few feet away with Kyeit and the others. There was another roar the shook the ground as Supri Fothisevi broke past the remains of the broken wall, and took his first step into the city. "This is bad," said Cecil, "We wont be able to hold him off now." "Kanaahn!" shouted Arial, she ran towards him and saw his right side was soaked in blood from his injury. Kanaahn felt faint as Arial leaned him against a nearby wall. Kanaahn's vision had gone and he was almost at the point of fainting, but his hearing was still working. He could hear Arial call for a medic, he could feel people rushing to his aid and trying to heal him. He could hear Leon talking rapidly with soldiers, he could feel himself being moved through the streets on what seemed to be a wagon. He could hear the dragons trying to hold off the black dragon and skeletal armies. He could hear the death and destruction that was going on around him. But the last thing he could hear before passing out, and the thing that affected him the most, "All hope is gone, we can't fend off the armies anymore." He could hear Leon say, "We need to evacuate the city and head north to the Daron Headquarters; the city is lost." And from there, Kanaahn fell into the darkness, and let sleep take him. The words still ringing through his ears, "The city is lost."


	20. Chapter 18: A City Lost, New Road Found

Chapter 18: A City Lost, A New Road Gained

Kanaahn woke up to find himself inside of the horse cart. Had it not been for bandages that now covered his left shoulder and stomach he would've sworn that everything that happened since they reached Ethon hadn't happened. Kanaahn rubbed his face, trying to get the sleep out, and sat up. There was a blanket wrapped around him and Arial was lying asleep in the corner. "Better let her rest," said Kanaahn, "She's probably been through enough already, trying to take care of me. She'll need the sleep." Kanaahn poked his head out the front of the wagon, Shooter was there, and he was driving. Cecil drove the wagon to his left, Arkas was sitting next to her—he seemed bandaged too—and the two were having a thick discussion about politics and animal husbandry. Kyeit was driving the other cart; she was alone, except for Valence who walked beside the cart. Every so often Valence would lower her head and whisper something to Kyeit, but Kyeit would simply shrug and ignore her. Djall was walking—though with much effort—and Risasi and Fyete stood on either side of him, ready to catch him if he fell. Kanaahn could see bandages wrapped around the thick of Djall's stomach, it suddenly came back to him that Supri Fothisevi's horn had pierced Djall's armor in the dragon's attempt at saving his life. Kanaahn looked around again, he saw Adalinda and Thrae in conversation with each other, and Leon was sitting on Thrae's back in conversation with Orichalum. There was a bandage that covered his head and left eye, but his green hair flowed down his back. Another scan of the area and Kanaahn could see Tstuta, Hasu and Saki riding on the top of Arkas's wagon—in monkey form—with a snow white rabbit—who had a red, crescent moon shaped birthmark on its haunch—on Saki's lap, who Kanaahn could only assume was Yumi. Kanaahn sighed with relief, everyone was safe, and that's more than he could ask for.

"Morning," said Shooter with a lopsided grin, he didn't turn around as he spoke to Kanaahn, but he smiled just the same, "Did Sleeping Beauty enjoy his rest?" Kanaahn sighed and forced a small laugh, "Yeah I guess," he said "Shooter, what happened?" Shooter barked a laugh, "Boy have you missing a lot, eh?" he said still smiling, "Well, let me tell you, it was terrible after you passed out. See, the Tsuru's returned from their envoy mission to find the dragons, and they tried fending off the skeletal armies while the dragons took care of the black dragons. And of course Orichalum and Thrae took care of keeping Supri Fothisevi occupied. Anyway, while they were all keeping the enemy preoccupied, we—well anyone who wasn't shocked, scared, dead or passed out—started rallying up surviving soldiers and even the injured, and headed for the dividing wall. When we reached the villagers beyond the wall, we started to marshall them into a line and prepared them for evacuating the city, and let me tell you; there was no complaining to fighting or anything. Once those people saw what Supri Fothisevi did to the palace, they were ready to leave at the slightest command. Well, I'm sure you can guess the rest for yourself, we got out—mind you it was a narrow escape, we almost didn't make it—and now we're heading north. Leon plans to take Orichalum, Thrae, the Tsuru's and all of the civilians to the Daron Headquarters to the north in Anglum Province. Argentum is there, as well as the entire Daron army, so even if Supri Fothisevi and his army try and follow them, Leon will have more backup this time."

Kanaahn nodded, "Wise choice," he said, "But what about us? What are we going to do? We can't go see Argentum yet, we need to find Aes and Aeramen first." Shooter smiled and pulled out a cigarette, "Already thought of that," he said as he lit it. "Who did?" asked Kanaahn curiously. "Your girlfriend," said Shooter, "—oh sorry, forgive me. _Ex _-girlfriend." Kanaahn rolled his eyes, "Not for long…" he whispered. "What was that?" asked Shooter with a smile. "Nothing," answered Kanaahn dismissively, "Anyway, what'd Kyiet decide?" Shooter paused for a second, took a drag from the cigarette and then amussed himself for a few seconds by blowing smoke rings; then finally answered, "She said that we'd separate, us and Leon's group, and that they'd head northeast towards Anglum and the Daron HQ, and we'd head northwest towards Malatrion and Aes." "She decided that?" asked Kanaahn intrigued. Shooter laughed, "Well, she didn't say we'd go to Malatrion a.s.a.p., she'd stop by some town first. I don't quiet remember the name, Argora or Angle or something like that, something with an A, anyway, my point is that our eventual goal is Aes and Malatrion." "I see…" said Kanaahn pensively. Shooter nodded, "Yep," he said, "Pretty lucky if you ask me." "How so?" asked Kanaahn. "Well, Aes being north, in the same direction that we had to evacuate it. Whether we'd won or lost we'd have to be heading up here anyway right? So it's kind of like we were…I don't know…destined to loose at Ethon or something." Kanaahn laughed and patted Shooter on the back, "You're starting to sound like a wise man," he said, "It's not like you." Shooter gave a classic lopsided smile and responded, "Just don't let the women find out," he chuckled, "They'll think I'm all brains and no balls."

Kanaahn rolled his eyes, "That'd be impossible," he said as he hoped from the wagon, "We all know you don't _have_ a brain to begin with." Shooter chuckled, "You better be careful Kanaahn," he said, "Otherwise you'll be walking to Malatrion." Kanaahn shrugged and laughed, "I need the recovery exercise," he laughed. With that, Kanaahn walked towards Leon, hoping to find out more about the situation after he passed out. "Hey," said Kanaahn as he stood beside Orichalum, barely reaching the dragons shoulder. Leon looked down and smiled to see Kanaahn, "Oh, hello there Kanaahn," he replied, "I'm glad to see you're awake. Are you feeling well?" Kanaahn nodded, "Well enough," he replied. Kanaahn hated small talk, and for some reason, he had a feeling was doing something other than trying to make conversation. People small talked for three reasons, to lead up to something big, to stall for time, or to avoid bearing bad news to someone who really shouldn't be hearing it in the first place. "Is there something you want to tell me?" asked Kanaahn to the point. Leon sighed, "I've never been one for masking the truth in my words," said Leon, "It's a gift and a curse really. Well, as a matter of fact there is, now…there isn't an easy way to say this. I've been…requested…by everyone to tell you, well…you need to apologize to Kyeit." Kanaahn sighed, "Why?" he asked, "I did nothing wrong. I have every right to seek revenge for my parents' deaths. I was deprived of a normal childhood—" Leon's face grew stern, but still calm and gentle, "Were you realy Kanaahn?" asked Leon, "Think about it. Arial's parents took you in. They love you and treat you like their own son, they gave you everything you could ever need and they'll always act like your parents whether you see it or not. You may have been deprived of a childhood without your birth parents, but you were not deprived of a normal childhood because you were _loved_, and you still are. Your friends love you, your adopted family loves you, and Kyeit loves you. And you love all of them, and I know you especially love Kyeit. Now go apologize to her, or I'll have Orichalum eat you."

Kanaahn couldn't help but smirk at the last part, but he knew Leon was right. "I—" started Kanaahn, but he knew better than to keep protesting, "How do I start?" Leon smiled softly, a twinkle in his eye, "Be soft, and sincere," he said, "You need to mean your apology, and you need to promise her on your life—or anything that's precious to you—that you will _never, never, never_, do this again." Kanaahn nodded, "Alright…" said Kanaahn, admittedly a little unsure, "Well, wish me luck." Leon nodded and waved good luck to Kanaahn, as he turned around and walked off towards Kyeit, practicing what he was going to say as he did. Kanaahn finally arrived behind Kyeit's wagon; she didn't notice him, Kanaahn figured to use this to his advantage. Thinking fast, Kanaahn jumped into the back of the wagon and walked through it, sitting beside Kyeit quietly. Kyeit noticed him and looked away, anger in her face. "Kyeit…" said Kanaahn softly, but she didn't answer, Kanaahn saw this as a good sign. If she didn't respond, therefore she wasn't going to object to him being there, and if she didn't object it'd make it easier for him to apologize, and if he could apologize successfully, then he'd be able to win her back…hopefully.

"Kyeit," said Kanaahn softly, "I'm sorry for being such an idiot. I know it hurt you when I lied to you, and I promise I'll never do it again. Can you please forgive me?" Kyeit didn't answer, but kept her eyes on the road, and away from Kanaahn's. Kanaahn sighed, "I guess not…" he said, "Well, think about alright?" With that, Kanaahn hopped from the wagon and walked over to Djall and the other dragons. "Hey," he waved casually as he caught up to Djall. "Oh, hello there Kanaahn," smiled Djall, "You're okay I see, I'm glad." Kanaahn placed his hand on Djall's leg and sighed, "Are you okay though?" he asked, "You didn't have to get hurt for me you know?" Djall chuckled, "If I hadn't come to your rescue who else would've?" he asked, "Besides, it just goes to prove, you're nothing without me." Kanaahn couldn't help but smile, "You're amazing you know that?" he said, "You're hurt and still cracking jokes." Djall raised an eyebrow, "And who says I was kidding about you not needing me?" he asked, "You're always getting hurt. It's usually me who ends up bailing you out, so in all truth—" "Yeah, yeah," interjected Kanaahn, "Whatever helps you sleep better." Kanaahn and Djall laughed, "You just can't admit defeat can you?" asked Djall. "Nope," answered Kanaahn plainly, "Never could, never will." Djall laughed again, "Here," he said stopping so he could lower his head, "Get on, you can ride the rest of the way. You're still too weak to walk." Kanaahn climbed onto Djall's back, but protested, "And what about you?" he asked, "Aren't you hurt too?" Djall smiled and kept walking, "Yes, but like you, I can't ever admit when I'm defeated." Kanaahn smiled and relaxed in the saddle, it was comfortable, and he could definitely see sleeping in here. "Rest if you want," said Djall, as if reading Kanaahn's mind, "You need it." Kanaahn nodded and yawned, and relaxed a bit more, and easily fell asleep. Dreaming of the future that awaited him at Malatrion; despite all the bad in his life, Kanaahn was surprised to see so much good showing up in the future.


	21. Epilogue: Separate Ways

Epilogue: Separate Ways

Drakhart walked over the rubble of the wall that once covered Ethon's eastern half. Supri Fothisevi waited just outside the old wall, glaring down at the city, as the skeletal soldiers scoured the city in search of villagers or anyone who was left behind. Piles of treasures and valuables lay outside of the gate; spoils of the battle, to be given to Tenebrae and divided later. Drakhart scanned the city in a scrutinizing manner, eyeing the large flat rise in the center of the city where the palace of Ethon once stood. "You did well, Supri Fothisevi." Said Drakhart suddenly, "You didn't have to destroy the palace, but no matter, it can be rebuilt." Drakhart took a few steps forward and began to walk down the street, then paused halfway down. His crimson eyes gleaned over the buildings—many of which were destroyed, half crumbling or still on fire. "Began to rebuild as soon as possible," said Drakhart, "I want this place to be livable, as it is now property of Altimara. I also want this palace rebuilt—Tenebrae's orders. This city will be under your command until further notice. The soldiers may live in the houses—this will be turned into a military village, have it outfitted properly." "_Yes, Drakhart-ith._" Answered Supri Fothisevi telepathically, "_I shall do as Tenebrae-ith commands._" "Good," answered Drakhart, "I will remain here and help you oversee the restoration of this city as a military fort." "_Of course,_" said Supri Fothisevi with a bow of it's many heads, "_Drakhart-ith, may I ask? Should I not go after the Warriors and the green haired king? I was so longing to destroy them, I also seek revenge on Orichalum, as he was one of the many who sealed me away so long ago._" "Do not act upon that whim yet," said Drakhart casually, still scanning the city, "I am well aware of the capabilities of your power, but this is not the time. You have given them a taste of bitter defeat. And shown them death and power on a previously unimaginable level. I do not think the Warriors will be so quick to resist next time we confront them, and I am sure that when you meet them again on the battlefield, you will destroy them."

"_Very well, Drakhart-ith, if that is what Tenebrae-ith commands, then that is what I shall do._" Said Supri Fothisevi, "_But tell Tenebrae-ith that I shall be waiting on the day that he calls on me to eliminate the Warriors and those who fight with them, and I shall be preparing until that day._" Drakhart nodded, "Good," he said evilly, "Lord Tenebrae will be pleased to hear it, and do not worry, the service you have provided here today at Ethon will not be forgotten. You shall be repaid for your boon." "_You and Tenebrae-ith have my deepest thanks,_" said Supri Fothisevi with another deep bow, "_I only seek to serve Tenebrae and his cause. Is there anything you two require of me?_" Drakhart paused his search of the city and turned to face Supri Fothisevi, "Remain here with me for now, and help me oversee the reconstruction of the cit—" Drakhart was cut off as a piercing pain split his forehead. A voice, a dark evil malicious voice filled with anger and power, filled his head. "Drakhart," said the dark malicious voice. "Y-yes Lord Tenebrae," answered Drakhart through the blinding pain—the pain had forced him to his knees. "Do the Warriors lie dead in the streets of Ethon?" asked Tenebrae "Are our flags drenched with their blood and flying from the top of the battlements? Are their bodies on the way to my palace and being prepared for the ritual?" Drakhart knew he was in trouble, "N-no my Lord, they—" A crushing pain gripped Drakhart's body as if Tenebrae was there, crushing him himself. "They _what?_" asked Tenebrae angrily.

"They've escaped my lord…by the city has fallen to us and is now being restored to your—Gah! Aaaaah!" The crushing pain intensified and. "You have failed me Drakhart…AGAIN!" roared Tenebrae, "Though you have succeeded in bringing Ethon to it's knees, the ones that I have asked for dead—the Dragon Warriors—are still alive! How can I make myself invincible if the greatest threat to my power is still alive and getting stronger?" Drakhart dared not answer; he knew Tenebrae might kill him if he did. Suddenly, the pain released and Drakhart collapsed to the ground, "No…" said Tenebrae in a whisper, a distant and disconnected whisper, "It is not your fault…it was Supri Fothisevi who led the attack…" Drakhart was used to the random bursts of rage and thought from Tenebrae, they were natural. "I shall leave Supri Fothisevi to finishing the job, it was given to him in the first place." Said Tenebrae, returning to his cool, calm and maliciously evil voice, "Forgive me Drakhart. Return to Kasaadua, I have more plans that I need to discuss with you. I shall send Jennu Ithael to oversee the reconstruction of the city, Supri Fothisevi can deal with the Warriors." And with that, Tenebrae was gone, and Drakhart stood up again. "_I have been given a task by Tenebrae-ith_," said Supri Fothisevi, "_I have been ordered to leave as soon as Jennu Ithael arrives, then I must proceed to hunt down the Warriors, find them, and them kill them._" "I've been told," said Drakhart, brushing his dark hair from his face, "I'm returning to the Black Citadel, under orders of Tenebrae." Drakhart walked towards the open plains outside of the broken walls. "I'll return later." Drakhart raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and with a gust of shadow he disappeared. As he did, Supri Fothisevi released, a triumphant, angry, evil and ground shaking roar; a roar that echoed through the woods, the plains, and the burning city and the air; a roar that echoed rage to every corner of Estion.

Kanaahn shot upright in his saddle; he could've only been asleep for a few hours. He scanned the sea of villagers around him; all of his friends were still there, he was still riding on Djall's back, and Kyeit was still mad at him. Kanaahn sighed and realized he had broken out in a cold sweat, and the hair on the back of his neck was standing on end. He had just dreamed…no, it wasn't possible; it had to be just a dream. Kanaahn jumped from the saddle and started to walk towards Shooter's cart. He needed to talk to Arial; she was the only one he could trust when it came to weird things like this, because he knew she wouldn't judge him. Kanaahn quietly hopped into the back of the wagon, and sat down beside Arial—who was quietly eating some bread and water. "Oh!" cried Arial, "God, you scared me. Don't do that." "Sorry," apologized Kanaahn, "I just needed to talk to you." Arial brushed her hair from her face, and looked at Kanaahn with her wary blue eyes, "Shoot," she said taking a bite out of the bread. "I just had a dream," said Kanaahn. Arial laughed, "Descriptive," she said. "Hear me out, Arial." Said Kanaahn rolling his eyes, "I dreamt that Drakhart appeared at Ethon. Just now or something, he came by to survey the city—he said he was going to turn it into a military city for Tenebrae. Supri Fothisevi was there too, and they were talking about coming to hunt us down later. Then Tenebrae showed up, I don't know how, I didn't see him, but I heard his voice, and Drakhart was in pain. He was mad…he was mad because we escaped alive. Look, all I know is that he wants our bodies—I don't know why—but he wants them for some sort of, ritual…or something. And he's sending Supri Fothisevi after us _right now_ to come kill us. And…and…I don't even know if what I saw was real…" Arial looked at him calmly, and finished her bread and water before answering.

"Personally," she said swallowing the water, "If you ask me. I think you should go to Valence or Kinokaze about this. They'd probably know more about dreams and premonitions. They'll be able to tell you whether what you saw was real or just some random dream." Kanaahn sighed and stood up, "But what do _you_ think it was?" he asked, "Do you think it was real? Or fake? What should I do? This isn't the first time I've had a dream about a real life event, the last one I had was about my parents being killed, remember?" Arial sighed and stood up as well, putting her hand on Kanaahn's shoulder, "I think, you need to stop _worrying_ so much about all this." She said sincerely, "If it's real, then it'll take a hell of a long time for Supri Fothisevi to catch up to us, you know how slow he moves. We're miles ahead of him, we'll reach Aes and Malatrion before he even gets to the border, by then we'll be trained, ready and reinforced. And if it's not real, then we have nothing to worry about." Kanaahn paused, and then sighed, "Well, you're partially right," he said, "I still have to worry about Kyeit being mad at me." "No you don't," said a soft, gentle voice. Kanaahn wheeled around and saw Kyeit through the hole in the back of the wagon, riding her wagon behind Shooter's. "Come here, Kanaahn," she said, "We need to talk." Kanaahn was speechless, and didn't move until Arial gave him a push towards the hole. Kanaahn soon got the hint and stepped out of Shooter's wagon and sat beside Kyeit on hers. "I thought about what you said," she told him, "And I could see the sincerity in your words. So I accept your apology, and I'm sorry for punching you." Kanaahn laughed, "Don't apologize for that," he said, "I deserved it, I was being an idiot." "You're damn right you were." Said Kyeit sternly, "And if you _ever_ do that again, I'm going to kill you, Kanaahn Saatus. I mean it. One more time you lie to me and I swear I'll do it."

Kanaahn laughed and put his arm around Kyeit, "Fair enough," he said, "I'll make sure to never lie to you then." "Good," said Kyeit hiding her smile, which brightened a bit as Kanaahn leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey," she said blushing, "Not yet, not in front of people. They're watching." Kanaahn laughed, "Let them watch," he said, "They're just jealous because we're in love." Kyeit rolled her eyes, "You have a horrible ego you know?" said Kyeit as she pulled herself from under Kanaahn's arm. "I love you," said Kanaahn with a small. Kyeit smiled, "I love you too." Kanaahn and Kyeit's moment was cut short as a loud flapping sound, which deafened and grew louder with each beat, sounded throughout the forest. With a loud thud, Kinokaze landed in front of Orichalum and the rest of the group, "We're at the crossroads!" she said, and as Kanaahn looked, he saw she was right. Up ahead there was a road sign, and the road split into two paths. Leon jumped down from Thrae's back and walked towards the group. "We're at the crossroads," said Leon, "And as much as it pains me to say this, our time together has come to an end. I shall lead my people to Anglum to take refuge with the Daron, and you must continue your quest in Asardaea, in Malatrion."

Kanaahn, Shooter, Kyeit, Arial, Cecil, Arkas and the dragons walked over towards the side of path, making room for the villagers to pass. Leon remained with the group, allowing Orichalum and Thrae to lead the villagers to the path on the right. The Tsuru's jumped down from the top of Cecil's wagon and landed beside Leon—turning back into humans as they did. "On behalf of my brothers and I, I bid you farewell, Warriors, and wish you much luck on your travels," said Saki, "Remember, even when you're in the dark, you all still have each other. And as long as you have each other, you'll never be defeated." Yumi stepped up next, shaking hands with each of the Warriors, "Good luck on your journey," she said smiling, "It has been an honor teaching you and fighting by your side." Leon stepped forward once again, "Orichalum and Thrae regret not being here to wish you well," he said, "But they have sent word to me that they wish you all the luck in the world, and to never give up no matter how hard things seem. They also say that you will all meet again before the time for the final battle comes." "Tell them that we thank them—and all of you as well—for everything you've done for us," said Kyeit, "And that we will miss all of you until we meet again." Everyone else nodded in agreement. "Now, you will be needing directions to Malatrion," said Leon, "So, from here, you must take the path to the left, stay on the road, eventually you shall reach the village of Angova. From there, take the western road out of the village and head west towards Malatrion. If you stick to my directions you should reach Malatrion is little under a weak. You're wagons have supplies to last you until Angova, so be sure to stock up wear you're there."

"Thank you," said Kanaahn shaking hands with Leon firmly, "I appreciate all you've done for us, and if there's ever any way we can repay you." "Defeat Tenebrae and win my city back," he said smiling, "That's all I ask." Kanaahn smiled, "I think we can do that, yeah," he answered. Arial walked forward as Kanaahn and Leon released hands, "Guys can you go on ahead?" she asked nervously, "I'll catch up with Adalinda in a second, I just need to say goodbye." Shooter gave Arial a big smile before being forced to move his cart by Risasi. Once everyone cleared away and started walking ahead, Arial flung her arms around Leon. "I'm going to miss you," she said tearily, "More than anything." Leon hugged her back, "I will too," he said, "But don't worry, we'll meet again soon. And when we do you can give me your answer." Arial pulled back and wiped her eyes, then smiled, "Yes," she said, "My answer is yes." Leon beamed and kissed her, "That's amazing," he said, "That's the best news I've heard in my life. We'll talk more about it when we meet next, I think we need more happy occasions in a world like this." Arial smiled and kissed Leon's cheek, "I agree," she said, "I love you Leon." Leon smiled back at her, "I love you too, Arial," he said sincerely, "Now, you must go. We both have our jobs to do." Arial nodded and wiped her eyes again, clearing her throat and walking over to Adalinda. As Arial mounted into her saddle, she gave one long, lasting look back at Leon, and then flew off at top speed towards the rest of the group. Arial flew high over the road, and lowered altitude a bit so she could yell back down to Kanaahn, "I'm staying up here a bit! I like flying!" As Arial flew above the group, she couldn't help but feel a sense of redundancy in flying. After accepting Leon's proposal, she already felt like she was flying on a cloud, and now she was actually flying. "So much as changed since we left Küla—no, since we crossed the border, hasn't it Adalinda?" asked Arial disconnectedly, "I'm engaged, Kanaahn and Kyeit are becoming serious, Arkas came out of his shell and is head over heels in love with Cecil…"

Adalinda smiled, "You're all growing up," she said, "And so are us dragons. It's only been about five months and already it feels like more." "Only five months?" exclaimed Arial in surprise. Adalinda nodded, "Yes," she said with a smile as she swerved to the left to catch the wind, "One month journey to Ottogard, one month training there, two weeks to Xiar, a week there, then another two weeks to Romontya, one more week after that to Ethon, then _another_ month training in Ethon. Then we spent this past week travelling north. So in total, almost five months." Arial whistled, "Wow…" she said, "It _does_ feel like longer. So much has changed…" Arial looked back down at the ground, she could no longer see Leon or the villagers; they were too far away. A pain inside of Arial bit at her heart, and the longing to be with Leon started to tug at her, but Arial controlled it as best as she could. She knew her and Leon had to go their separate ways. It was destiny that led her and her friends to find the dragon eggs, destiny that led them to Ottogard and Xiar, destiny that led them to Ethon, destiny that led them to fighting Supri Fothisevi, destiny that had them loose that battle, destiny that led them north, and destiny that forced them to got their separate ways. Arial had learned that destiny was a funny thing in all of her travels so far, and that's why she knew it would be destiny that would bring her and Leon back together and destiny that would Tenebrae down again.


	22. Draconic Translation & Name Pronunciatio

Character Name Pronunciation

Aurum – OR-um

Argentum – ARE-gen-tum

Orichalum – Or-E-CAL-um

Aes – Ace

Aeramen – Air-A-men

Tenebrae – Ten-a-bray

King Rego – Re-go

Queen Lijad – Lee-jad

Kanaahn Saatus – Ka-NON SA-tis

Shooter Maxim – Shoo-ter Max-im

Arial Gainsborough – Air-EE-al Gains-bor-row

Drakhart Ghast – Drak-heart Gast

Arkas Nazzer – Arc-us Na-zer

Djall – D-jall

Risasi – Ri-sa-si

Fyete – Fay-yet-a

Adalinda – A-DA-lin-DA

Ölüm – O-loom

Mr. Fugi – FU-gee

Master Shang – (Shang Rhymes with Sang)

Kyeit Karaglen – Ky-eet Ka-ra-glen

Valence – Vay-lence

Hunter Karaglen – Hun-ter Ka-ra-glen

Cecil Wynn – Ses-sil Win

Kinokaze – Key-NO-ka-ZAY

Tachi Tsuru – Ta-chi Soo-roo

Yomi Tsuru – Yo-me Soo-roo

Yu - You

Zu – Zoo

Supri Fothisevi – Soo-pree Fo-thee-sev-ee

Jennu Ithael – Je-noo Ith-ay-el

Leon Austrica – Lee-on Aw-strick-aw

Yumi Tsuru– You-me Soo-roo

Saki Tsuru– Saw-kee Soo-roo

Tsuta Tsuru– Soo-ta Soo-roo

Hasu Tsuru– Ha-soo Soo-roo

Glay'ak – Glay-ack

Sisanali – See-saw-naw-lee

Astron – As-tron

Eraden – Air-a-den

Kothar – Ko-thar

Rort Osulith – Roar-t O-soo-lith

Honch – Han-ch

Llilor Saatus – Lee-lore Saa-tis

Istora Saatus – Is-store-a Saa-tis

Ana'Datil – Ah-nah Dah-till

Naru – Nah-roo

Alamange Tsuru – Ala-man-gue Soo-roo

Daniae Tsuru – Dan-ee-ay Soo-roo

Eldim Rodir – El-dim Road-ear

Nayondel Darond – Nay-yon-dell Da-rond

Sei'ophmei Dynia – Say-oaf-may Din-ia

Tolrem Tsuru – Toll-rem Soo-roo

Zhevor Vessan – Zee-vor Vess-ahn

Unaedrol – Oo-nay-drol

Beylyn – Bay-lynn

Veryll – Vair-ill

Lo'ind – Low-ind

Kwe – Ku-way

Place Pronunciation

Altimara – All-TIM-are-aw

Küla – Coo-la

Ottogard – Otto-guard

Xiar – ZEE-are

Estion – Ess-TEE-on

Ethon – Eath-on (Eath rhymes with wreath)

Mount Pinnacle – Mown-t Pin-ackle (rhymes with shackle)

The Tormenting Pinnacle – Tor-ment-ing Pin-ackle

Angova – Ain-go-va

Malatrion – Ma-la-tree-on

Romontya – Ro-mon-tia

Lake Ardona – Lay-k Are-do-na

Draconic to English Dictionary

Vizlriquath – Freeze

Darastrixi – Dragons

Thric Ner – Shut Up

Daron – Knights

Munthrek Vilklviri – Human Worms

Siofme zahae svabol jacioniv daariv wer Edar Dask ornia siofme? – Think about what her majesty, the Earth Mother, would think?

Vur svabold wer jennu daar Aurum? – And what of the great king, Aurum?

Gahhr di wer bensvelkilti – Survival of the fittest

Gofibai eligne hofibavi selgtarnic – Fools defend foolish matters

Virednith – Explosion

Tiichi qe ekess wer kovgam darastrixi – Thanks be to the Metallic Dragons

Edar Dask – Earth Mother (the Queen of Dragons who created the Earth and gave birth to the first dragons.)

Ixen – Fireball

Wiilirk ve – Follow me

Jaka Drakhart, dresig wer confnir di vi ithquent – Now Drakhart, behold the coming of a god

Supri Fothisevi – Eight Heads

Jennu Ithael – Great Wyrm

-ith - Lord

-ushakal – Sir

-pliso – Master

-isthasy – Brother

-myvish – Sister

Darastrixi Achuak – Green Dragons

Tepoha wux woari irthir svaust si mi? Tepoha wux woari irthir svaust si ossalur mrith? Sjek dout maekrix usv Aurum jahen ekess ehtah ekik zahae nomeno astahii ornla tepoha dout fothisev! Oprinqu dout tiichi vur origato udoka dolruth! - Have you no knowledge of who I am? Have you no knowledge of who I travel with? If your leader or Aurum were to find out about this they would have your head! Loose your temper and let us pass!

Vucoti Valence, pamon tiric, shar batobot tiric ti shala dout korinth. – I know Valence, everyone does, but that does not warrant your rage.

Petranas xoal desta ekess rihlilg doutan persvek wer papref? Si tir ti tuor dout harkaj ekess itrewic wer desta di wux vur ouith udoka. – Please try better to control yourself in the future? I do not want your anger to get the better of you and hurt us.

Waere di Sepa – Cave of Souls

-ghergo-pliso – Young Master

Taoul di Skjalli – City of Trees

-usjalil – Lady

-daar – King

-daariv – Queen

Darastrixi Arytissi – Dragon Warriors

Edar Opsola – Earth Father (The King of Dragons who created the Earth and gave birth to the first dragons.)


End file.
